Challenge Accepted
by Traverse the Portal
Summary: When the Professor doesn't come home one night, Buttercup picks up the phone and is given two choices: Let the Professor die, or Accept HIM's challenge. The choice is obvious for Buttercup, how hard could the challenge really be? Rated for adult themes in later chapters. (Just to be safe)
1. Prologue

AN: So this is my first M rated fic. Rated for adult themes. This is going to be a long fic, but I think you will all enjoy it, so without further ado, here's the story!

 **Prologue**

Buttercup's POV

It was our first day of summer break after graduating high school, and we were all surprisingly bored… and hungry.

"Where's the professor at? He said he'd be home at 5:30 with dinner and it's 8 now! What could he possibly be doing for three hours?!" I had been waiting for the Professor to come home to eat anything and frankly, I was starving… and pissed.

"Calm down Buttercup, he probably got caught up in some new breakthrough, you know how passionate he is about his job." Blossom rolled her eyes at my impatience. The professor had recently been offered a job in the military as a chemist to design new weapons for the military, and he loved his job.

I was about to start up on another complaint when the phone started ringing obnoxiously loud. I quickly picked up the phone and screamed irritably into the speaker. "WHAT?!" I was expecting the person to hang up immediately, but I felt all the blood drain from my face as I heard an eerily familiar voice come through the line.

"Why hellooo there dear Buttercup. You don't sound very happy, why is that?" It was HIM, the echoing falsetto was unmistakeable and I wasn't in the mood for dealing with his crap.

"Cut the crap, what are you calling for?" I hissed in a whisper, not wanting to alarm my sisters if there was no reason to.

"Always so impatient my dear! I have decided upon a proposition for you." I almost choked at his implications, there was no way in hell I would ever make a deal with the devil.

"No way! I know not to make deals with you, that'd just be stupid on my part!" I made sure my words were forceful, but not too loud. I could almost feel the smirk drop off his face at my response.

"Well. You might want to reconsider," his oh so pleasant voice changed into one more true to his nature, "if you ever want to see your precious Professor alive again!" My blood turned to ice and I swear I died for a split second.

"Ok. I'm listening…" I pictured his shit eating grin crawl slowly back onto his face and tried not to scream.

"Good, gooood. Now listen well dear, this is important for you to understand. In order for me to spare the Professor, you or one of your sisters must take on my challenge. It consists of fifty challenges you must completed within the day unless the time frame is changed in the challenge. If you fail to complete any challenge within the time limit, you must choose whether the professor will die of you will take his place. If you don't accept this challenge…" his voice once again dropped to a demonic growl, "the professor is as good as dead!" If possible, more color drained from my face and I had to swallow the giant lump in my throat before responding.

"I'll do it."

"I figured you would my dear. Be at my lair no later than 9 AM, we will go over some ground rules. Come alone and your sisters can't know about this. Tell them he's on a mandatory surprise business trip." Without even waiting for my answer, HIM hung up the phone.

"What did the person on the phone say, Buttercup?" Of course Bubbles would be the one to be curious.

"It was dad, he said he was going on a mandatory surprise business trip and won't be back for a long while. Guess we have the house to ourselves for the summer…" She looked very upset and I felt guilty that I couldn't comfort her as I stormed into the kitchen to make myself dinner.

I poured a big bowl of my favorite cereal, too mentally drained to put up the effort and make a real dinner. I stuffed myself with the frosted flakes and mini marshmallows until I couldn't eat anymore. Without a word to my sisters, I decided to retire for the night, setting my alarm for 8, if there was something in life I wasn't going to be late for, it was this.

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I woke up the next morning to a blaring beeping sound from my alarm clock that I rarely used. Memories from yesterday rushed back to me and I jumped out of bed and started getting ready. I ran to my closet and after short consideration, I picked out a lime green cut off t-shirt that showed just above my belly button, low rise ripped denim jeans that reached my upper thigh, and topped it off with a pair of neon green sk8-HI vans. I looked in the mirror and started to brush my bow waist length hair until it settled into neat waves and straightened my new sideswept bangs, pushing them out of my face slightly. I didn't use nearly as much makeup as Bubbles and Blossom did, I only used black eyeliner and mascara to make my eyes pop. I never wore foundation since I didn't want to cover my light freckles, something that set me apart from my sisters. I put in my normal three crystal earrings in each ear and flew out of my window towards HIM's lair.

It was 8:45 when I arrived in front of HIM's door. I always thought it was weird that he lived in a regular house considering he literally came from hell, but whatever works. I knocked on the door and he immediately opened it, ushering me inside where I see the Professor tied to a chair and I couldn't tell whether he looked scared, relieved, or worried, I was never good at reading people.

"Now to go over some ground rules for this challenge dear Buttercup… You may not use your powers whatsoever during ANY of the challenges. To make sure you won't, I will take your powers for the time being and leave them in the care of the Professor." My eyes went wide at the revelation that I couldn't use my powers that I had relied on all my life. "That's not all, nobody, not even your sisters can know about the challenge or why you are doing the things you are. If anyone asks, your answer must be 'because I can and I want to.'. Also, the professor will know all of your challenges ahead of time and he will be able to sit here and watch your progress through media, videos, and news reports. Now… are you still up to the challenge?" I definitely felt apprehensive about the situation now, but this was for the Professor.

"Buttercup, don't do it! I've lived long enough, just go on and live your own life, you're 18 now, you don't need me anymore!" I knew he hoped that by saying that he would keep me from accepting the challenge, but him saying that just reminded me why I would do anything to keep the Professor safe.

"I accept your challenge." I looked over at the Professor, "Sorry dad, but I can't let you go." I walked over and hugged him and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. I whispered in his ear, "It'll be ok dad, I love you." He repeated my words back to me with tears in his eyes.

It wasn't long before HIM interrupted our father daughter moment. "You should get going dear, your first challenge will be on your dresser first thing in the morning with whatever you will need to complete the challenge." His voice once again flipped into a malicious snarl. "Have fun Buttercup!" With that, he pushed me out the door and I walked back home, having had my powers drained by HIM, what did I just get myself into?

AN: so here's the prologue, stay tuned for Buttercup's first challenge and hopefully the other 49 if she makes it until then, dun dun dunnnn. Please review and tell me if you like it so far!


	2. Challenge 1

AN: Starting with this chapter, I'm actually starting the challenges, hope you enjoy them! Thanks to who reviewed the last chapter, every review is appreciated :)

Chapter 1: Challenge 1

Professor's POV

I watched as HIM wrote out the challenge on a red piece of paper and I felt the dread bubble in my chest as I saw a sadistic grin cross his face. Buttercup was always the one who thought she was invincible, always reckless, so without her powers I feared greatly for her safety. My heart almost stopped when he stopped writing and walked towards me with the note.

"I did tell her you would see all the challenges beforehand…" he handed me the paper and I reluctantly read over it and felt all the color drain from my face.

"No, please don't make her do that. That's practically suicide, you can't do that!" I almost begged for him not to make her complete the challenge he had written out.

"They only get worse Professor, this is the least of it, I won't change my mind about any of these." I almost started crying, but I knew Buttercup would be disappointed if I did so in front of the enemy, so I held back the tears until HIM left to drop off the challenge. What did she get herself into?

Buttercup's POV

I woke up on my own time and felt my heart drop at the red piece of paper that sat on my dresser. I didn't want to, but I knew I had to read it in order to keep the Professor safe. Got out of bed and walked towards my dresser, seeing myself in my mirror in the process. Like most people do, I stared at myself for a moment: My hair was in a cute messy bun on the top of my head, my bangs had fallen in my face, covering half of my left eye, I wore a large green football jersey with only a pair of black underwear on underneath.

I eventually quit stalling and looked down at the paper, a few sentences were scrawled in cursive: "Dearest Buttercup, today marked the start of your challenge meaning with this not is your first challenge. Lay down on the Townsville Train Track, once you lay down, you can't get up for ten minutes, choose when you lay down wisely."

I blinked a few times and reread the challenge hoping I had read something wrong, but no matter how many times I went over it again it didn't change. I put the paper under my pillow and went downstairs to make breakfast. If I was going to possibly die, I wanted my last meal to be absolutely delicious. Most people wouldn't guess, but I was a damn good cook! I grabbed milk, eggs, and bacon from the refrigerator as well as bread, potatoes, smoked paprika, and cinnamon from the pantry. I mixed the milk, eggs, and cinnamon together for the French toast mix, adding in a dash of sugar for good luck. I fired up the stove for three pans and put bacon in one, chopped potatoes seasoned with paprika in another, and three dipped pieces of bread in the other. As those were cooking, I grabbed two peaches, a box of strawberries, and a box of blueberries. I cut up the peaches and strawberries and put them all in separate bowls.

Once everything was done cooking, I set them up on three plates, each having three French toast, three pieces of crispy bacon and a small pile of home fries. I put the chopped peaches on top of one pile of French toast for me, the chopped strawberries and bananas on another pile for Blossom, and a generous amount of blueberries on top of the final pile for Bubbles. I put all the plates on the table and got out the silverware.

Before I could even wake up my sisters, they had smelled the food and came flying down the stairs, sitting in their respective seats before I could even blink. "Thank you Buttercup!" Both of my sisters smiled brightly and thanked me before digging into their plate. I made my way over to my seat and dug into my own breakfast, enjoying every bite of it.

After finishing, I went upstairs to get ready for my challenge. I brushed my teeth with my favorite cinnamon toothpaste and washed my face, then got dressed. I threw on a mint green t shirt with a knot in the front, revealing a small sliver of skin above the waistline of my light ripped denim shorts, the look completed with a pair of white ankle converse. I decided to leave my hair in the bun, but fixed my bangs so they would be out of my face. I put on my normal makeup and yelled to my sisters that I would be out for a little bit and left for Townsville Train Tracks. I sat on a bench, surrounded by a few other people who were waiting for a train. I waited for a train to go by and as soon as it did, I laid down on the track as if it was a normal thing to do and started a ten minute alarm. The people who were sitting on the benches jumped up in shock and confusion.

"Hey that's dangerous! Get off of there!"

"Isn't that a Powerpuff Girl? Why is she laying on the tracks?"

"That's Buttercup! What's she doing?"

"One of them finally went crazy!"

I tried to ignore all the comments and all the people taking pictures or videos and just laid on the tracks, praying that a train wouldn't come until after the ten minutes were up. I checked the time on my phone and saw I still had seven minutes left. I could hear many of the people making phone calls, but I knew unless they called my sisters directly, nobody could get here to move me in seven minutes. I tried to look calm, but I was anything but that. A train could come and crush me at any second and without my powers, I would be as good as dead.

Just as I thought I might be lucky and there would be no trains, I felt the ground beneath me start to rumble. I felt panic bubble up in my chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. I frantically checked my phone, hoping it would be one second from beeping, but it still had a little under a minute left on it, fifty-four seconds. Everything seemed to move in slow motion: the time, the ground, my life flashing before my eyes, and most importantly, the train that was starting to come into view. Fourty-one seconds. At the sight of me not moving even with the train coming, people began to panic much more, screaming at me to move and get off the tracks, that there was a train coming. Twenty-nine seconds. Their panic fed into mine as everything got closer and panicked tears built up in my eyes. Eight seconds.

The train was about five feet away from me when the timer went off. With all the speed I could manage, I launched myself off of the train tracks, the train grazing my foot as it blew by. I was really shaken, but I wouldn't let it show, I couldn't let it show. I got up and dusted myself off, then started to walk out without a word, as if it was a normal, everyday thing. One woman, however, wanted answers.

"What was that all about? You could've gotten yourself killed!" I looked at her and thought for a moment about what to tell her, and then I remember what HIM told me I had to say.

"Because I could and I wanted to." With that, I turned and continued my walk home, hoping my sister nor the media had heard about it. I walked down the streets on the way to my house and people were already giving me weird looks and whispering as if I didn't already know it was about my little stunt. Luckily for me, I managed to get back home without the media finding me, but when I got home I found out why, they were at the train tracks questioning all of the witnesses and my sisters were watching with wide eyes.

The noise from closing the door caught their attention and they quickly turned to face me with a look of genuine concern and confusion written on their faces. "Buttercup? Is… is this true?" Bubbles looked very worried and probably hoped that it was just a misunderstanding. I couldn't find the voice to answer so I just nodded my head.

They both gaped at me in confusion. "Buttercup, why? Please tell me you weren't trying to kill yourself…" Blossom looked terrified at the thought, tears shining in her eyes.

"No, I did it cause I could and I wanted to. If I wanted to kill myself, I wouldn't have jumped out of the way." Their faces were those of shock and complete and utter bewilderment, they wouldn't understand, they couldn't.

Professor's POV

The first thing HIM showed me was a video from a witness, not telling me how it was going to end with a wicked grin on his lips. The whole video, I wanted to yell out to her to get off the tracks, but I knew it wouldn't make a difference and would only give HIM the satisfaction he wanted. I couldn't stop the gasp however as. The train came into view and she was still on the tracks. I felt the tears come to my eyes as the train got closer and closer and she didn't budge. I tried to look away, but HIM forced me to watch as the train came within 10 feet of her, still lying still. I started to feel physical pain in my chest area as the train got around five feet away from her and she finally jumped off the tracks, barely moving in time.

I let out a breath that I didn't even notice I had been holding and let a tear of relief trail down my face.

"Lucky you. You get to live another day, now you can see what media is already saying about your precious daughter." The screen switched to TMZ, them talking about Buttercup's stunt and calling her crazy and suicidal.

The news channel came in next, saying that, "It was only a matter of time before one of our city's heroes went crazy, and many people aren't too surprised that it was Buttercup." I felt fury towards all the people who wholeheartedly believed that she went crazy and was suicidal because of one daring stunt! They didn't know, but she was doing all this to save me! I could only hope that things wouldn't get too bad for her…

AN: That's it for Challenge 1! Looks like Buttercup survived! Will the challenges get harder or easier? Will she survive the next one? Stay tuned to find out! Hope you enjoyed and please review!


	3. Challenge 2

AN: I hope you enjoyed the first challenge, now onto the second!

Chapter 2: Challenge 2

Buttercup's POV

The night before I had to put my phone on do not disturb from all the notifications I got between text messages and social media. I really didn't want to check anything, but I knew I had to. I had 137 text messages asking if I was ok and if I needed help and was tagged in 837 different news reports and witness accounts wondering if I was suicidal. I decided to ignore everything because it would just take too long! It was only the second day and my life was already getting harder.

I looked over to my dresser to see a new challenge sitting on my dresser. "How early does that motherfucker wake up?!" I groaned as I dragged myself out of my warm bed and shuffled to my dresser. I was still half asleep when I read the note, but when I saw what it said, I woke up real fast. "Jump out of a car going 50+ miles per hour. I've done the tests, it's not impossible! I wanted it to be 60 but the Professor somehow convinced me to bump it down a bit." I couldn't really say I was surprised that he would give me such a dangerous dare, but it did make me wonder what he could possibly be planning for future challenges. I mentally thanked the professor for looking out for me and went downstairs to make breakfast.

I decided on making chicken and waffles and got to work. I whipped up waffle mix and breaded the chicken that I cut into chicken fingers. It didn't take too much effort since it was pretty basic stuff, but I enjoyed making my food look like it came off a cooking show. After the chicken finished frying, I took it out of the fryer and put it on a plate with a paper towel on it to absorb the grease, it'd be gross if I didn't. Within the next ten minutes, I had the table set with three plates, each having a stack of two waffles and three pieces of chicken.

This morning, however, the doorbell rang before my sisters got downstairs. I groaned loudly, hating answering the door, but knew the Professor hated it when nobody answered the door. The person at the door knocked again and I went to the door in my normal pajamas since they couldn't be patient enough for me to get pants on. I flung the door open, an angry look on my face as I recognized the press with news cameras, news photographers, and reporters. "What?! You couldn't have even waited for me to get pants on?"

I only got angrier as a few flashes went off, temporarily blinding me. "Buttercup! Are you really suicidal? Have you gone crazy?" I felt a vein in my temple start to throb violently as my frustration built.

"No I'm not fucking suicidal! If I was, I wouldn't have fucking moved! AND I'M NOT FUCKING CRAZY!" The press took a cautious step back, probably not expecting my use of language since I didn't usually curse at reporters, but it was 7:30 in the morning, I just got another dangerous challenge, I had no powers, and they were holding me up from eating!

"Are you sure? How can we believe you?" I growled audibly, my food was getting cold.

"What's the point of even asking me if you aren't going to fucking BELIEVE ME?! Now. I have a breakfast that's getting cold and I don't have time for all this shit." With that, I slammed the door in their faces and saw Bubbles and Blossom sitting at the table, staring at me in shock, waiting for me to sit down and eat with them.

"Buttercup, you really need to watch your language… that's going to make your situation worse, not even mentioning you went out there half naked!" I knew that Blossom was right, but right now I was just grumpy and extremely hungry.

"Yeah, whatever. They just need to leave me the fuck alone." I knew Blossom was going to have something to say about my language again, but right now I really didn't care.

"Buttercup. Language."

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes and went back to finishing my meal. We are in silence until Bubbles broke it.

"Hey, wanna go to the mall today?" I heavily considered just flat out rejecting the idea, but I realized this was my chance to complete the challenge, so I had to accept.

"Bubbles maybe we shouldn't-"

"Sure let's go!" Blossom glared at me as I both cut her off and went against her standing. Bubbles looked pleasantly surprised and rightfully so, I hadn't been to the mall in over a year.

"Yay! We can go in three hours, I need to get ready!" I put my plate in the sink and headed up to my room to get ready.

I hopped in the shower, straightened my bangs and curled my hair once it was completely dry. I brushed my teeth and picked out my outfit for the day: a pair of black ripped jeans, a maroon top that showed a little sliver of skin with side cutouts, a leather jacket with a gray cloth hood coming from the back, completed with black combat boots. It was only supposed to be 65 degrees today, and with the normal weather being in the high 90s, it may as well had been freezing. I completed the look with my typical eyeliner and mascara, then hustled down the stairs to realize that Bubbles was still getting ready.

Needing a way to pass the time, I turned on the TV and was agitated to find my 'interview' from this morning on the news channel. "Tough Powerpuff Girl, Buttercup Utonium, stepped out of her house only half dressed to greet the press. Not only did she step out in such revealing and inappropriate attire, but also voiced her displeasure by means of cursing loudly at the reporters." I wanted to scream in frustration as they were already twisting around everything like only the media could. They continued to play the whole video, only recording after the second knock. I watched myself flung open the door, a grumpy look appearing on my face as I caught sight of who it was, standing only in my green football jersey and black panties that the whole world knew I wore now. My hair in a low ponytail, my bangs covering most of my left eye. I groaned at how this probably looked to the public who had no background information.

"Yesterday's stunt and today's interview brings up the question: Is Buttercup Utonium a beginning of another child star gone bad?" I angrily clicked off the television and threw the remote on the couch.

"BUBBLES HURRY UP, YOU'RE DRIVING!" I heard her drop a few things in her struggle and within the next three minutes, she was out the door.

"Sorry about that, Buttercup." I smiled at her, she was always so sweet.

"It's no problem Bubbles, I'm just a tad impatient at times." Bubbles giggled at my understatement and started driving, smiling the whole time and I started to feel bad that I had to do this to her, she would probably cry and I would feel awful. It took about ten minutes to get to a road where she could go 50 miles per hour and I realized it was now or never. Without any warning, I unbuckled my seatbelt.

"Buttercup? You need to put your seatbelt back on, that's dangerous." I cringed at the worry in her voice.

"Fuck… I'm so sorry, Bubbles…" She must've misinterpreted my statement to mean that I was putting my seatbelt back on, because she screamed in panic when I unlocked the door, pushed it open and jumped out of the moving vehicle, covering my head as I rolled on the hard pavement. Let me tell you how much it ducking HURT without my powers to cushion the blow. I felt at least two ribs crack and I clutched my side in pain. Luckily, since I was wearing a leather jacket, I didn't have to worry about roadburn except for on my hands and my right cheek.

"Fuck." I moved to stand up, but Bubbles pulled over her light blue punch buggy and kept me down.

"Buttercup! Why did you do that? Why are you hurt? Your powers should've protected you!" I felt horribly guilty as I looked up to see tears streaming down her made up face.

"I wanted to, and I could, so I did it. And I lost my powers until the professor comes back. They'll be back after that. The professor took them because he didn't trust me to use them responsibly while he is gone." Bubbles gaped at me and brought me into a gentle hug which I returned.

"Let's get you to a hospital, I think you broke a few ribs and you should really get that roadburn bandaged." She helped me up and walked me over to her car. "Just don't jump out this time, please." I found myself laughing at what I couldn't tell if it was a joke or if she was serious.

"I won't, pinky promise." She smiled at me and drove off as soon as I put my seatbelt on.

"Buttercup, you're really scaring me with the things you've been doing in the last two days… Especially with you not having powers, it's really dangerous and I don't want to lose you! Everyone thinks you're going crazy and are suicidal, but I know they're wrong! Just tell me what's going on!" I wanted so bad to tell her all about the Professor being kidnapped and HIM's challenge, but I stopped myself, knowing that if I did, HIM would kill the professor without a second thought.

"I can't tell you Bubbles… I really want to, but I can't." She didn't respond to me after that and I could tell she was disappointed with my answer. The remaining fifteen minutes of our ride was silent and she didn't even say a word as she helped me out of the car and into the hospital. "Bubbles, I'm sorry…" She looked at me with a look of betrayal that made me realize that HIM wasn't only trying to see if he could kill me, he was trying to make my life a complete mess. She only nodded at me and continued walking until we got to a desk.

"Excuse me, she jumped out of a car going 55 miles per hour and I think she broke a few ribs and has some pretty nasty roadburn." The secretary glanced at us and recoiled in shock that we showed up to the hospital since we usually healed quick enough to not need medical attention.

"Oh my, right this way." She led us back to an empty room and informed us that a doctor would be here in a moment.

Bubbles avoided any eye contact with me and I sighed sadly, scared that HIM had already turned one of my sisters against me, the only one I could usually talk about anything to.

"Bubbles please don't be like this! It's not like I'm trying to hide anything from you, I actually can't tell you! Please don't shut me out like this!" She only stared at me, her eyes reflecting a cold aura that didn't fit her. "Fine. You should've just let me fucking suffer and went to the mall by yourself." Her cold look dissolved and turned back into the sweet look she normally had, but looked away from me, not responding.

The wait felt like forever until the doctor came in and wrapped my roadburn and my four broken ribs. I sat next to Bubbles in her car and clicked on the seat belt. "Do you still want to go to the mall?" I didn't want to go at all, but I hoped that she would stop giving me the cold shoulder if I made the offer, even if it did mean navigating an overcrowded mall and trying on clothes I would never wear in a million years.

Luck seemed to finally be on my side as she couldn't hold back the sweet smile on her face. "You still wanna go? Of course I wanna go!" She took the next turn and we ended up at the mall, and even though I detested the very sight of this building, I felt a small victory that she wasn't shunning me anymore.

Bubbles dragged me into at least twenty different stores and forced me to try on tons of different clothes, and surprisingly, I actually bought a few of the outfits she picked out. I wasn't having an awful time overall until the press surrounded us, demanding answers to why I had jumped out of the car. I tried to ignore them, but my irritation was at the breaking point as they wouldn't leave us alone. "FUCK OFF. I DID IT BECAUSE I COULD AND I FUCKING WANTED TO! THAT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE YOUR ANSWER, SO STOP FUCKING ASKING! Let's go Bubs." I used their shock to my advantage and pulled her away from the offending reporters, running out of the mall.

The second we got home, I got more than an earful from Blossom. Something about watching my language and to stop pulling crazy publicity stunts. That pissed me off. These were anything but publicity stunts and I couldn't even justify it! "Whatever Blossom, you couldn't possibly understand!" With that, I stood up from the dinner table and stormed up to my room and got ready for bed.

Professor's POV

As I watched the video of my middle daughter jump from Bubbles' car, I could barely keep myself from crying. The video's audio picked up the sound of her snapping her ribs and I could hear at least three distinct snaps. As she sat up, gripping her sides, I could see the road burn on her face and her hands. I felt terrible knowing this was indirectly all my fault. After watching her complete her challenge, HIM showed me all the publicity she had been getting lately.

I saw the news story from this morning and I cringed when she stepped out only half dressed and when she cussed out the reporters. I understood everything though when he showed me the footage from another camera when they knocked more than once before she could get dressed and the part that was cut out when she demanded to know why they couldn't wait for her to get changed.

He followed up with the next report where she once again cussed at the press to escape with Bubbles. When I got back, I would definitely need to work on her filter with the reporters, as well as her language problem. The grin that plastered onto HIM's face, however, told me that he planned this all, and that was when I realized it: These challenges weren't designed to kill her, they were meant to ruin her life and her reputation! I felt a sense of helplessness wash over me as I watched as my daughter slowly destroyed herself to save my life.

AN: oh my, what could HIM possibly do next? Could these daredevil challenges transform into something more eventually? Stay tuned to see what happens with Buttercup! Please please review!


	4. Challenge 3

AN: So if the last two chapters stressed you out a bit, this one should be a little bit of a breather… kinda. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3: Challenge 3

Buttercup's POV

BEEP BEEP BEEP SMASH

I snuggled back under the warm covers after destroying my alarm clock. I could've just turned it off, but where's the fun in that? Blossom must've thought differently since not even a minute later, she started banging on my door, scolding me for breaking yet ANOTHER alarm clock.

"Buttercup, I thought you were done with this childishness! Those cost money you know?! And open the door, we need to talk!" I scoffed loud enough for her to hear, she only wanted to interrogate me again about my "publicity stunts".

"As if Bloss, you just want to interrogate me and it's not gonna happen. We're having fucking Cheerios this morning because frankly you've already managed to piss me off and I don't feel like making you breakfast now!" I could almost feel her glare burning through my door.

"Buttercup this is just childish! Get out here, talk with Bubbles and me about what's going on, and make a real breakfast!" I rolled my eyes at her and abruptly flung the door open, making sure it hit her in the process.

"Ohhh, I'm sooo sorry! I didn't know you were there dear sister, could you ever forgive me?" Her scowl deepened as I completely mocked her.

"I'm trying to be nice here, Buttercup. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you better fix it soon! What are you trying to accomplish by doing all this stuff? I just hope you know the professor is probably sitting somewhere on his business trip wondering where he went wrong with you!" That caught my attention. She didn't fucking know the half of it! Everything I was doing was to save his fucking life! How could he be disappointed when I'm risking my life to save his?

"Shut the fuck up Blossom. You don't know anything. I have my own reasons for doing this stuff, but it's none of your fucking business. You'll find out what I'm trying to accomplish WHEN I accomplish it. And just to let you know, that thing you said about the Professor, it's false." I stormed downstairs and poured myself a large bowl of Cheerios and milk.

I finished my meal in record time with Bubbles staring at me in fascination, almost as if she was wondering how I could down a bowl of Cheerios in eight seconds. I smiled and winked at her, making her giggle at my antics, she thought I was the funniest thing ever. I ran upstairs to my bedroom and slammed the door in a still frozen Blossom's face. I felt pride swell in my chest that I could have that effect on the perfect little know it all. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate her, not at all, she just gets on my nerves a lot easier than Bubbles, so I find more satisfaction in winning every argument.

My good mood was put to a screeching halt as I saw a red piece of paper with a medium sized bag from Victoria's Secret on top out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to scream and could only imagine what horrors he could possibly put me through with whatever was in that bag. I decided to avoid it for as long as possible without making me fail my challenge.

I jumped in the shower and used my spiced apple shampoo and conditioner and taking my sweet time. I shaved everywhere within normalcy and opted to shave my legs twice, breaking yet another record of taking the longest shower of my life, totaling at one hour and fifteen minutes. I took a full four minutes to brush my teeth and made sure my hair was completely devoid of any tangles before blow drying it until it was completely straight. After stalling for as long as possible, I read the letter first: "My, my dear, those reporters are quite relentless aren't they. Well they should have a lot of fun with your next challenge. Today in Townsville, there is a polar plunge, you are to participate. Don't think it's easy yet though, you are to strip down to your gift in the bag before jumping in. I hope you like it Buttercup." I openly growled at the letter, if one thing would tell the press I was going crazy, it was stripping in public and jumping in a pool of ice water in the middle of the damn summer. Who even hosts a polar plunge in the summer anyways?!

I begrudgingly pulled out the contents of the bag and immediately dropped it as if it had burnt my hand. I stared down in disgust at the offending undergarment. Despite being designed to cover my midsection, the teddy style lingerie had alarmingly little fabric. The top part consisted of black lace bra cups, the bottom a black G-string that was lacy in the front, connected to the bra with a sheer material that crossed just above my navel. I looked down at the piece in disgusted horror knowing I would have to wear that, while wet, in public. I could already feel the humiliation and loss of dignity.

I stared at it for at least twenty minutes before realizing I didn't have all day. I gagged as I put on the slutty number. I threw a black v-neck t-shirt over it as fast as possible and covered the rest with a pair of dark denim shorts. I put my hair in a high ponytail, threw on some black flip flops, grabbed my favorite green towel, and left the house. I walked the whole way, hoping not too many people were there, but lucky me turned the corner to see what could've been half of Townsville crowding around the pool of ice water. "Fuck."

I tugged nervously at the bottom of my t-shirt, receiving judgemental looks from all the people around me, mostly soccer moms. Even without my powers I could hear their "whispers", which just sounded like they were talking in a whisper tone.

"That's that crazy Powerpuff Girl… My kids would never act like that, I wonder where their father is." I fumed and wanted to snap this woman's neck, but I knew I couldn't afford that kind of publicity, especially with so many reporters in the area.

"I heard he's on a business trip. You would think she would be able to behave somewhat decently while he's gone…" I only grew angrier and I knew I couldn't just hold it in.

"You would think you'd be able to whisper somewhat decently while I'm standing RIGHT HERE!" I let my voice raise with the last two words to emphasize the point that I had heard everything they said. "What are you soccer moms doing at a polar plunge anyways? It's not like your PERFECT little children would ever do something so INCREDIBLY STUPID!" Their whispering came to a halt and I felt satisfied with myself for getting them to eat their words.

"Look, we're sorry-" I didn't want to hear their bullshit excuse.

"You aren't sorry. If you were, you wouldn't have talked about it at all. Just leave me alone and keep your judgement to yourself!" I decided to leave it at that so I wouldn't draw even more attention to myself. It's not like I needed it.

I pushed past the soccer moms, making sure to knock shoulders with one that looked especially like a soccer mom. She turned her head to glare at me, her semi-short brown ponytail whipping around with her. "My kids would never do that!" I rolled my eyes, managing to piss her off more.

"Whatever Stacy, just go argue over a fucking coupon expiration date or something!" The woman took on a very aghast look as if Satan had pissed on her new Sketchers.

"You are intolerable! And my name is Susan, not Stacy!" I rolled my eyes, she had just revealed her name to be even more soccer momish. I didn't even bother to turn around and just gave her a finger to look at. I could practically hear the bomb going off in her brain as she shrieked in frustration. I laughed it off and got in line for the polar plunge. I was in for fifty of these challenges, might as well embrace it, even if it is going to completely fuck up my life and reputation.

Professor's POV

Him came in and turned on the TV. "You're going to be sooooo proud of your darling daughter!" I turned my head to face him, he had to be joking, there was no way she already completed that challenge! I looked at the screen to see her in a heated argument with a middle aged woman, obviously pissing her off. Then I heard it. "Whatever Stacy, go argue over a fucking coupon expiration date or something!" I recoiled in disbelief that she would ever say anything like that to someone older than her.

"Buttercup…" I groaned in frustration, she knew better than that!

"Soon enough you'll get to see the pretty little outfit I put together for her!" I didn't like this at all, not one bit. I already saw the dare and hoped to God it was just a swimsuit, but from the tone in his voice I knew better.

Buttercup's POV

As soon as I got in line, most of the guys turned around and stared at me, possibly because I just told off one of their mothers. "Buttercup! You totally just TOLD Brent's mom!" They all began cheering me and I received a good amount of bro fists because apparently his mom is a total bitch.

I talked with the guys and they let me go in front of all of them and I almost forgot about my awkward situation until we got to the front of the line with only three more people in front of me. I suddenly realized that I had willingly walked in front of a group of college boys to do a polar plunge in some of the skankiest lingerie I had ever seen in my life, probably theirs too, and they were going to get a full view of my ass.

"Next!" A man, probably going through a midlife crisis yelled as he jumped into the frigid water in just his swim trunks. That leaves only two people before me. The careless lifeguard watched the man until he got out of the pool.

"Next!" A slightly younger guy jumped in and came up with his mouth open as if he wanted to scream but couldn't. He stiffly made his way out the pool and I realized my turn was coming up too close for comfort, but I wasn't about to act all soft and ask the guys to go first!

"Next!" I slightly flinched as I saw the only person between me and humiliation walk to the high diving board. I had to swallow the lump in my throats and turned to look at the guys, forcing a cocky look on my face, I want about to embarrass myself completely. I decided I was at least going to look confidant in this.

"Don't get too excited." They looked at me confused until I pulled off my shirt and my shorts. They all stared at me in awe and slight disbelief, a few even got a nosebleed, and despite my order, they all got a little too excited.

"Next!" I turned around to climb the ladder and felt twenty stares burning into my back. As I passed the lifeguard, his uninterested persona disappeared completely and his eyes almost popped out of his head. I smirked and climbed up the ladder, receiving multiple cat calls and wolf whistles from the group of guys I had been talking to earlier as they got a great view of my G-string going right in my ass crack. I heard appalled gasps from mothers and reporters all around as I got on the high dive. Without hesitating, I performed a perfect triple flip dive into the FREEZING water. I pushed off the bottom of the pool and popped my head above the water, happy that I wore waterproof makeup, but mad that my straightened hair was not very straight anymore. I started to pull myself out of the pull and the lifeguard was a little too eager to help me out of the pool.

He positioned his hands on my hips and lifted me out of the water with ease, I wasn't that heavy, but it didn't get past me when he took the opportunity to squeeze my ass. I turned around and slapped him hard, making a VERY noticeable sound. "Don't touch my fucking ass, dickhead!" He stood there flabbergasted but pleased with himself at the same time and I felt disgusted. "Brent, toss me my clothes hun." I shot a smug look at his mother as he brought my clothes over to me, his face like that of a lost puppy.

"Here ya go…" He was struggling to keep his eyes on my face so I helped him out. I lifted his chin so he was looking me in the eye and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks babe." Blood rushed to his face and another place that showed just how much he enjoyed that kiss. As I put on my clothes I looked over at Susan, a shit eating grin plastered on my face. "Bye Susan! Can you remind me who's bringing the orange slices to tomorrow's game?" She didn't even have time to respond before I walked away leaving her behind with a red face.

I soon realized that a hoard of reporters were following me. "Umm… can I help you?" I sounded a tad rude, but sometimes it's the only way to get rid of these leeches.

"Why did you wear that to a polar plunge?"

"Are you going crazy?"

"How could you disrespect your elders like that?"

"What's your bra size?"

"Are you a virgin?"

I cut them off with an angry glare that somehow always got them to shut up.

"I wanted to, no, she was gossiping about me and I hate gossipers, not important, and yes." Nobody really seemed pleased with their answers but I couldn't've cared less. I turned my back and wrung out my wet hair as I walked back home without waiting for a second round of questions.

I walked down the street and I got perverted looks from almost every guy I passed which made me feel extremely uncomfortable. It wasn't too long of a walk home and once I got home I already heard the news station reporting all about me.

"Buttercup Utonium not only disrespected and humiliated a mother at the downtown summer polar plunge, but also wore a jaw dropping getup to jump in." A picture of me in my skanky lingerie showed up on the screen and Blossom whipped around with a disgusted glare directed towards me.

"What are you aiming at, Buttercup? Are you trying to make the Powerpuff Girls lose every shred of respect we have?" I glared right back at her, but I managed to make her flinch.

"I'm not aiming at anything! I'm just trying to live! Maybe you should try it sometime!" That seemed to shut her up and I plopped on the couch next to Bubbles and continued watching my story get covered.

"What do you think about Buttercup's behavior today?" She asked a boy that I recognized as Chase.

"That chick is sexy as f-" they cut him off before he could finish the word he was about to say, even though everyone knew what it was. Finally they pulled up my interview, something Blossom was somewhat pleased with.

"At least you didn't put out too much there…" I chose to ignore her and changed out of the lingerie, flinging it across my room in disgust and saw another red paper on my bed.

I walked over and read it: "My, my, what a show you gave everyone! Your dear professor informed me that you would probably destroy that little number as soon as you take it off, so part of your challenge is to keep it. It can serve as a reminder of how helplessly under my control you are!" I wanted so badly to scream and destroy something, but that would get the attention of my sisters and I couldn't let them find out about that mess for their own good, I didn't want them anywhere near this mess. I walked over to the skimpy suit and hung it up in my bathroom, getting changed into a pair of short mint green cotton shorts and a large black t-shirt.

I walked back downstairs and started to cook dinner for my sisters and myself. We ended up agreeing on chicken alfredo and I got to work boiling the pasta, breaking the chicken, and once that was in the fryer, making the alfredo sauce. I managed to put together the meal in just under an hour. I slid a plate in front of Bubbles and Blossom before sitting down with my own plate in front of me. "Bon Appétit!" After saying that, we all began to eat and I was proud to say that it tasted amazing! I had a civil dinner with my sisters and to me it was like a breath of fresh air.

With a nudge from Bubbles and an expectant look, Blossom started a conversation. "Buttercup, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for treating you the way I have been for the last few days… The truth is that we're both worried for you and if you ever need anything, we have your back." Happiness and gratitude fluttered around in my chest at her words and I allowed a genuine smile.

"Thanks sis, both of you, I appreciate it." I couldn't keep the smile from my face for the rest of dinner even though I tried not to. I was just so relieved to have them on my side, even if I couldn't tell them what was going on. "I love you guys." I don't really know where it came from, but I felt like I needed to say it. They looked up at me, surprised and with good reason, I don't usually say things like that unless I really mean it. Bubbles was the first to snap out of it and smile a huge smile, Blossom soon following her example.

"We love you too, Buttercup!" My smile grew bigger if possible and I gave each of them a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, I'm tired." I ran up to my room, feeling happier than I had in a long while.

HIM's POV

I crushed my glass of water in anger as I saw her make up with her sisters. This challenge was suppose to be tearing them apart! Not bringing them closer together! Maybe I had to step it up a bit… Get ready Buttercup, these challenges are going to get a lot harder!

AN: so there's the third challenge! Hope you're enjoying this so far! Are the challenges going to start getting harder or is HIM bluffing? Keep reading to find out and please review!


	5. Challenge 4

AN: So I'm introducing an OC in this chapter by Author Candidate-James Scott. You'll find out her name and what she's like later ;), hope you enjoy!

Professor's POV

HIM wrote on the paper with a furious scowl drawn onto his already demonic face. I always felt nervous when he wrote out these challenges, but for some reason I felt like he wanted her dead. She didn't have her powers, but her sisters did, they would protect her, right?

"HIM, what are you thinking?" He slowly turned his gaze and jerked his head when his eyes met mine, making me flinch.

"You'll see in a short while Professor!" He didn't even bother to hide the demonic growl that was his real voice. He wrote for a few more minutes and then stopped, a wicked smirk on his face. He walked over to me and held it out so I could read it. My eyes widened at his challenge. What had my daughter done to make him so angry at her?

? POV

I don't understand why she's getting so much attention! She's all over the news because of a few publicity stunts, so what?! ANYONE CAN LAY ON A TRAIN TRACK, JUMP OUT OF A MOVING CAR, AND WEAR LINGERIE IN PUBLIC! It's just that nobody else is dumb enough to do it!

Wait… that was mean, I feel awful for thinking that, You never know what someone's going through… I'll find her and see what's going through her head, maybe I can help her!

Buttercup's POV

I woke up smiling, still remembering my conversation with my sisters last night, maybe they could help me out with all the press crap too, but they couldn't really have any evidence that I had good reasoning behind everything. I sighed in exasperation, already tired of these challenges and walked over to the red piece of paper.

"You've gotta be fuckin kidding me!" There was no fucking way he actually wanted me to do this.

"Hello Buttercup. I see you made friends with your sisters again, but they won't be around to help you since I have them an incredibly important mission to do three cities away! Why can't they be here? Well it would take the fun out of watching you fall to your death if you can't make it across the tightrope I had set up for you between the two highest skyscrapers in Townsville. Don't forget, if you do fail, both you and the Professor die! You by default and the Professor by whatever means I deem necessary! Break a leg… or two."

I could tell he was angry with me, but I couldn't tell what for, I've done everything he's told me to do and followed all the rules, something I almost NEVER do! I walked downstairs to see a note on the table in Blossom's handwriting: "Hey, Bubbles and I were called for a mission today in Megaville and since your powers aren't working right now we thought it would be dangerous to bring you along. We should be there for the day so please try not to get yourself killed while we're gone. We both love you! -Blossom and Bubbles"

The letter almost made me smile, but then I remembered that they were out there so I COULD possibly get myself killed. For a moment, I considered just giving up and just telling HIM to kill me so at least one of us could live, but my fighting spirit wouldn't allow me to just give up. I ran upstairs and got myself ready, changing into a mint green muscle tank with a knot in the front, a black bandeau under it and a pair of shredded white jean shorts. I threw my hair up in a messy bun so it would stay out of my face and put on my everyday makeup. That was where the easy stuff ended, what shoes was I going to wear? Normally, I'd have no concern whatsoever for what shoes I was going to wear, but if I was going to be walking across a thin rope between the two highest buildings in Townsville, I wanted all the advantages I could get.

After careful consideration, I realized that my all white nike free runs were my best option. I threw them on and ran downstairs to pop four waffles in the toaster since I didn't feel like cooking this morning. It didn't take more than three minutes for me to devour the waffles since they were, after all, one of my favorite breakfast foods. As I was about to leave, I realized that I could possibly die during this challenge, so I left a note for when they came back.

"I don't know if I'm going to die or not, but just in case I do, I need you to know that this wasn't suicide and I love you guys so much. I can't tell you what really happened because it's part of the rules, but I can tell you I wouldn't just walk between two high buildings without my powers just for fun. If I die, I'm sorry I failed our family. -Buttercup"

I looked over the note and once I looked it over to make sure I had everything I wanted to say in it, I folded it and ran it up to my room to put on my bed. With that being done, I made my way out to the tallest skyscrapers. The breeze felt great with the hot weather, but my smile faded and blood drained from my face when I realized that a breeze was HORRIBLE when walking a tightrope! "Fuck my life…" I mumbled to myself as I walked down the streets, earning some glares and judgemental looks. At this point in my life, I learned to ignore it all and for that, I was glad.

Somehow I managed to make it to the skyscraper without getting caught by the press or stopped by a random parent who wanted to 'fix' my 'behavioral issue'. I opened the door and got in the elevator, and to my displeasure, a businessman was already on it. The man gave me a weird look and I stuck my tongue out at him in what I will admit, a childish manner. He rolled his eyes and asked out of obligation, "What floor?" I didn't look at him as I answered.

"The roof." He didn't respond and I didn't hear a button click, so I turned my head towards his direction to see him staring at me, a conflicted look in his eyes, as if he was wondering whether he should let me up there or not. "I'm not gonna jump off if that what you're worried about." I felt kinda grateful that he was concerned, but also agitated that he pinned me as that kind of person.

He nodded slowly and pressed the button hesitantly, as if he was still having doubts. The elevator trip was the single most awkward thing I've ever done in my life, aside from the one time Blossom forced me to tell the Professor about my first kiss in seventh grade. At the ninth floor, he got off and I breathed a sigh of relief, making me realize I had been holding back on my breathing so I wouldn't make a sound. The rest of the ride up was pretty smooth and eventually, I reached the roof, or as the elevator called it, floor 67.

Upon leaving the elevator, I was almost blown over by a strong gust of wind. "Fuck… I'm going to die today." I waited for the wind to calm down and walked towards the edge of the building, right in front of the rope. Right when I was about to step on it, another wind blew by, nearly pushing me over the edge and right in the middle of rush hour traffic. I once again waited for the wind to die down, and without giving the wind a chance to change its mind and come back, I jumped onto the rope, knowing that the longer I waited, the more I would overthink it.

I looked only to the other skyscraper, not even daring to look down, even when some people started commenting from below. I tried to ignore them, but some were just harsh.

"Who the fuck is that dumb to walk a tightrope between two buildings on a windy day?"

"I hope they fall, maybe then we can be witnesses on the news…"

"That looked just like the green Puff! Even from down here I can tell it's her!"

"Yeah, let her fall then. It's not like she's that useful without her powers anyways…"

I gritted my teeth as I put one foot in front of the other, willing myself not to lose focus. I couldn't tell how far along I was since I refused to look down, but it looked like I had gotten around halfway across. My confidence boosted at my progress, but as I went to take the next step, the wind blew hard again. I started to panic, but remembered my days on wii fit and leaned the opposite way of the wind by a little bit to compensate for the way I was being pushed. Just when I thought I was safe, the wind stopped blowing and I began to lose balance from leaning to the other side. I started to fall and Closed my eyes, but in some stroke of luck, the wind picked up again, but this time heavier. I quickly caught my balance, not wanting to have another near death experience like the one I just had before. I was getting close to the other side and I made the mistake of letting my guard down. The doors to the elevator opened and a group of police were on the roof.

"GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

I actually jumped and lost my footing completely.

My heart flew up to my threat not even letting me scream as I started to fall. In a bout of panic, I flailed my arms around to find anything and I managed to get a weak hold on the rope, my fingers slipping fast. I heard a few groans of disappointment below and I didn't know whether to be pissed or hurt, these were the people I spent my whole childhood saving! Before my hand could fully slip I threw my other one up, catching myself and getting a better grip with my first hand. I took a deep breath and prayed that my gymnastics training would pay off. I swung back and forth until I had enough leverage to flip myself above the rope so I was above it in a handstand. I knew very well that trying to get back on my feet would be suicide, so I finished crossing it with my hands. One hand in front of the other, I managed to make it the rest of the way, falling on my back with a headrush. I took my time gathering myself and angrily shot up to face the police that did the dumbest thing in the world by scaring someone on a fucking tightrope.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! YOU DON'T SCARE SOMEONE WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO BALANCE ON A FUCKING TIGHTROPE! THAT'S HOW PEOPLE FUCKING DIE! IT'S NOT EVEN FUCKING ILLEGAL!" I was so mad at this point that I didn't give a fuck that I just completely disrespected the law enforcement. THEY ALMOST GOT ME AND THE PROFESSOR KILLED! I quickly calmed myself down and went in the elevator of the skyscraper I was on.

I was proud of myself the whole way down that I was able to complete the challenge, if I could do that, I could handle the other 46. Sixty-eight floors later, this one was a floor taller, I got to the ground level of the skyscraper and prepared myself for the hate and beratement I knew I was going to get, but I could take it, this was for the Professor after all.

I took in a deep breath and walked through the automatic doors, hoping to skip the crowd, but it seemed my luck had run out for the day since I got bombarded with angry parents and random civilians yelling all at one time. I couldn't even make out what any of them were saying and it started giving me a pretty nasty headache.

"SHUT UP!" I shrieked as loud as I could and it seemed to have the desired effect since the whole block went almost silent. "Now why don't you talk one at a time so I can actually hear how much each of you hate me? Don't think I didn't hear most of your comments." Some people had the decency to look guilty, but others looked like they didn't care that I knew.

"You're a terrible influence on our kids! You're supposed to be a superhero and you're the worst teenager out there!" I raised a brow at that one and decided to be a little sarcastic.

"Well I wouldn't say the worst since I've taken plenty of teenagers in gangs with homicidal tendencies off the streets to keep you guys safe and I'm glad I have such an impact on your kids' lives!" The mother snorted in disgust at my reply and stormed away, her son looking up at me in admiration, he couldn't be over 10. "Hey kid, I don't recommend acting like me though, I don't want you getting hurt!" The crowd looked at me in surprise that I had just looked out for a kid even though his mother was so rude to me. I honestly had a soft spot for kids and it would actually kill me if one got hurt trying to imitate me.

"Who do you think you are? Yelling at the police with such language? Yellin' at the press with such language? Yellin' at civilians with that kinda language?" I chuckled at this guy, he didn't have the whole story to anything.

"Well first off, I think- no, I KNOW I'm Buttercup Utonium. Second, the police scared the absolute SHIT outta me while I was trying to balance on a tightrope and almost got me killed. Third, the press have been twisting around stories and leaving out details to make me look bad, why the hell wouldn't I? And fourth, I guess you're talking about that soccer mom. Well jagirl Stacy was talkin' shit about me to her friends so I just jumped in to stick up for myself since nobody else would." The man looked at me, obvious contempt in his eyes, obviously sceptical of my answer. "Believe me or not, I don't care, but it's the truth." He scowled and walked away from the crowd.

"You said the police almost got you killed, but if you fell, you could've just flown! I'm calling bullshit on all of your answers." I raised a brow, I was about to expose this man so hard.

"Well… sir. When the professor went on his business trip, he took my powers with him since he didn't trust me completely with them while he was gone. Now, it would be a little hard to fly without powers, don't you think? Well since you don't have powers and can't fly, I think you know the answer, but if you're too ignorant to know that too, I'll spell it out for you. It's not really possible to fly without powers." I finished my petty response with a sarcastic smile. The man huffed loudly and looked thoroughly embarrassed. "Now. Any more questions?" I waited a moment but didn't hear anything. "No? A while ago it sounded like a lot more of you wanted to talk… funny how people are scared to say something when someone knows they said it. You all hate me for saying what I'm thinking all the time, but at least I'm not fake. I put things as it is. I'm up front about stuff. You don't have to worry about me talking behind your backs, but I guess not everyone's like that…" with that, I turned my back and started to walk home, pushing past the press, who were also for once, absolutely silent.

? POV

I stood in an alley waiting for her to pass and I saw a girl around my age walk by, it was her. I reached out and grabbed her forearm, pulling her in and slamming her hard into the wall. "What the fuck?" She winced in pain as her head hit the wall and I frowned at her language.

"Hello, Buttercup. I just want to let you know that you aren't all that! You do all this crazy shit for attention and a lot of people can't see through it, but I can and you need to stop! You're really only making your life harder and I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the attention you're getting isn't positive." I hissed out my lecture to her and she just gave me a dark look.

"Look. I don't know who the FUCK you are, but you better get the hell offa me. I might not have powers right now, but I'm not scared to kick some random chick's ass if she gets on my bad side. Obviously you are too fucking dense to realize this, but I'm not doing any of this shit for attention. Hell, I don't even WANT to do any of it! I fucking HAVE to! I'm fucking aware that Townsville hates me despite me saving their asses since I was fucking five! You don't have to fucking tell me this shit you fucking bitch! Don't try to fucking judge someone when you haven't heard their side of the story. My creator, the professor has always told me not to judge someone until you've walked in their shoes, and if he met you, he would be absolutely disgusted, and so as I. The reality is that YOU can't see through anything because there is NOTHING to see through! Everything I say is nothing but the fucking truth and it's not my fault that little pieces of shit like you are to ignorant to see that." I dropped her in shock and felt my eyes start to tear up. Nobody has ever said something so derogatory towards me before in my life, and the worst part is that with the way she said it, it sounded true.

I let out a whimper and a few tears streamed down my face. She groaned in exasperation and yelled at me. "What the fuck is WRONG with you?! You yell at me one second and cry like a bipolar bitch the next? Who even are you?" I start sobbing violently and she cringed, her glare almost disappearing completely. "Wait- don't cry, ugh I didn't mean to- er… I'm- ugh I'm not good with crying people! What do you want me to do? Shit, I'm so bad at this kinda shit…" I put my face in my hands and started crying harder. I was surprised to feel a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders and pull me closer. "It's ok… Look, I'm not mad anymore! I'm not gonna kick your ass! What else do you want? Please stop crying! If I buy you ice cream will you stop? Shit, I don't have enough money on me for that right now, but I do have a chipotle gift card, I'll give it to you!"

I started to cry harder as she tried so hard to make me feel better. I had just accused her of being a terrible person and here she was trying to make me feel better. "DAMMIT WHAT DO YOU WANT?! IM SORRRRRRR- sooooooor- ugh I can't do it! I'm sooooorrrrrrrrrrr- ugh! Please just stop crying!" My sobs turned into giggles at her failed attempt to apologize. I had heard about her difficulty with apologizing, but I had never imagined it was that bad. I pulled away from her and started cracking up when I saw the baffled look on her face and the chipotle gift card she was holding up.

"So you're better now?" She asked me when I finally stopped laughing.

"Yeah, sorry about that… I- I'm sorry, that was wrong of me to do that to you… can you forgive me?" I have heard rumors about her ability to hold a grudge and cringed in anticipation for her to blow up, so you could imagine my surprise when she responded how she did.

"Yeah, sure." I looked up at her to see a smile on her face, amusement in her eyes.

"You- you aren't going to hate me until I die?" She looked at me strangely for a moment then busted into a loud laughter that made me laugh a little with her, how could everyone hate this girl?

"I guess that came from that stupid rumor about me holding grudges right?" I nodded slowly and she smiled lightly and shook her head. "Ah these rumors kill me. You want someone to hold a grudge, cross Blossom, I usually forget about things by the end of the day. I swear Blossom still brings up the time I had a crush on Ace when I was five…" I laughed a little at my severe misconception. "Hey kid, who are you?" I looked back up at her, her gaze inquisitive.

"I'm Kitty Hearts, I'm 16 almost 17 at Townsville High." She smiled at me and giggled a little.

"Ok, well I'm gonna call you Kit because Kitty sounds a tad like a pet name. And you already know this, but I'm Buttercup Utonium, I'm 18, 19 in about 9 months at Pokey Oakes High." I let a frown cross my face at what she said about my name.

"It's not my fault my parent's named me that!-" she put her hands up and laughed a little.

"Woah now Kit, I didn't mean to offend you! Calm down I didn't mean anything by it!" I let myself calm down and blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry…" she smiled brightly at me.

"Don't worry about it!" That was when I remembered what I thought about earlier.

"Look, I want to help you. I see that you don't have many people on your side, but I want to be there. I just need to know what's going through your head…" her smile dropped and she looked towards the ground.

"I appreciate that Kit, but I'm not allowed to tell why I'm actually doing this… It's against the rules. I really do wish I could tell you more, but I can't, that's all I told my sisters too. I'm just scared I'm going to have to do something that will ruin my life forever…" I was surprised that she was just spilling her feelings to me, I knew that she wasn't the type to do that, that wasn't a rumor, it was a fact. Suddenly her head snapped up in realization. "Shit! Please keep this conversation between us, I like to keep an emotionally collected persona, I'm sure you know that. I don't know why I just did that, I never just talk about my feelings? Damn this challenge is fucking with my head…" both of our eyes widened and she looked up at me, panic in her eyes again. "Wait! Forget I said that! Shit, I need to stop talking… please don't speak a word of this to anyone!" I could see the desperation in her eyes clearly and I knew it was important that I kept this between us.

"My lips are sealed."

Buttercup's POV

I sighed in relief at her words. I met her emerald green eyes and smiled at her. "Thank you so much, Kit, you're a lifesaver." She blushed and fiddled with her honey amber brown hair. She was definitely different… At times she reminded me of myself and other times she reminded me of Bubbles.

"It's no problem… Friends?" I couldn't help the happiness that shot through me that someone in Townsville still liked me.

"Friends." We exchanged numbers, social media, all of the above. "Seriously, thanks Kit, you don't know how great it is having a friend right now… See you around sometime." She smiled and waved to me, something I returned as I ran back home.

Blossom and Bubbles were still out and I ran up to my room to toss the note that had no purpose anymore other than to worry them. I started to make dinner so it would be ready when they got home since I KNEW they would be hungry. I pulled out three racks of ribs and got to preparing them for the grill. I grabbed a large container of sweet baby ray's barbecue and added a few spices to it to make it taste better. I threw in paprika, cyan pepper seasoning and sugar to top it off. I mixed everything together and doused the ribs in the sauce until they were completely coated. From there I turned on the grill and grabbed three cons of corn, deciding to grill those as a side. I threw the meat on the grill and halfway through cooking them, I added on the corn. The ribs finished cooking first, made so that the meat was almost falling off the bones. I put one rack on each plate then waited for the corn. After that finished, I set up the table and put each pate on the table at our normal seats.

I sat at the table, staring at my food until my sisters got back, It couldn't have taken them this long… I hope they were ok. I checked my phone to see if I missed any messages, but there was nothing. I decided my best plan was to call Blossom. To my relief, she picked up after three rings.

"Oh hey Buttercup!"

"Blossom, are you guys almost home?"

"Umm, yeah we just stopped to get something to eat." My heart dropped and I looked at the dinner I made them.

"Oh… ok, um, that's fine, when do you think you'll be home?" I spoke as I wrapped their plates with cling wrap and put it in the fridge.

"In about an hour maybe?"

"Oh. Ok well I'll try to wait up until then. Um… see you guys later I guess." I put my head in my free hand and felt the loneliness creep in, they didn't even ask me if I wanted to come...

"Yeah see you later Buttercup." With that she hung up the phone.

I threw my phone across the room, not caring that it shattered when it got the wall. I looked down at my plate and slowly picked at the food until I finished. It tasted great, but I didn't pay enough attention to really notice, it might have been a tad dramatic, but I felt abandoned. Other than Kit as of today, they were all I had.

Blossom's POV

"What did Buttercup want, Blossom?" I took a while to answer, she seemed almost disappointed on the phone.

"She wanted to know where we were, but she sounded really upset when I told her… I wonder why." Bubbles looked at me and smiled as our food came out.

"She's probably just upset about not being able to fight crime for the time being." I thought about it and it made enough sense, so I just went with it as I started eating the rack of ribs that we both ordered.

It was kind of a tradition to eat a big ribs meal after a big mission and it honestly felt weird with Buttercup not here to make a bunch of jokes that I would yell at her for even though I struggled not to laugh.

"It feels weird without Buttercup…" Bubbles voiced my thoughts exactly and I could only nod.

We ate our meal quietly, too quietly, and asked for the bill. After paying and leaving a generous tip, we grabbed our leftovers and left, then flew home to see Buttercup with her head down on the kitchen table, having obviously fallen asleep waiting for us to get home and I honestly felt bad. Bubbles went to the fridge to put the leftovers away and after a minute, she called me over.

"Hey Blossom..? I think I know why she sounded so upset on the phone…" I walked over, confused, only to be enlightened when I saw the two plates of ribs with grilled corn on the cob. If I felt bad before, now I felt like actual crap.

"Oh my god… We're such bad sisters! We didn't even ask her if she wanted to eat with us and she worked her butt off to make us the same darn dinner!" I only hoped she wouldn't take this personally. We really didn't even think about it…

Bubbles started crying as she looked over at our sister, passed out at the table in what was probably a very uncomfortable position. "We should put her to bed. She's already in her pajamas which means she was already ready for bed." I nodded and picked her up, realizing that she was actually quite small, even smaller than me, but a little bigger than Bubbles.

When we got to her room, Bubbles made her unmade bed and pulled the blankets back so that I could put her under them. I gently put her on the mattress and made sure her head was comfortable under her pillow. After she looked comfortable, Bubbles pulled the blankets over her so they covered up to her neck. We were both on either side of her bed and both gave her a kiss on one of her cheeks.

"Goodnight Buttercup, we love you…" Bubbles smiled sadly and walked out of her room. I looked down at her and noticed that her hair was in her face, something she hated. I took my hand and tucked it behind her ear.

"I wonder what you did today… sorry about what happened earlier Buttercup, I promise it won't happen again. I love you, goodnight." I kissed her again on her forehead, even if we did argue a lot, I didn't know what I would do without her.

Professor's POV

I was watching video footage of Buttercup's challenge for the day and nearly had a heart attack. HIM came in the room with a gun, which scared me the worst. I knew Buttercup wouldn't cop out and tell him to just kill me because knowing her if in some crazy twist of events she DID turn down a challenge, she would sacrifice herself. With this thought process, I was obligated to believe that my daughter had died during her challenge. From the beginning, I could see that it was very windy by the movement of the rope and the blowing of her hair. My first minor heart attack came when the first gust of wind almost blew her over, but she luckily caught her footing. I let go of my breath too soon though since the second I did, the wind stopped and she started to fall over. Tears came to my eyes as I thought I was about to witness her death, but was heavily relieved when the wind caught her, even if HIM scowled at that part, I smiled.

I thought everything was good and well, and that she was going to make it, but then I heard a loud scream telling her to 'get down from there'. I watched as she visibly jumped from being startled and once her concentration was broken, she lost her footing completely and started to flail around as she fell. I almost choked as I watched that, but caught my breath when her hand caught the rope. I still felt nervous watching it, as her hand was slowly slipping, but when I tried to look away, HIM's magic forced my head to face the screen again. I almost cried from the relief that rushed through me when she got a solid grip on the rope and completed the challenge in a handstand because even though she collapsed at the end, she was alive and well.

I didn't even care that she cursed out the police officers because I would have too, that was just dumb! I was even proud of her for sticking up for herself against all of the civilians that attacked her. I didn't care what anyone else thought about her right now. Buttercup Utonium was a daughter to be proud of in my eyes.

AN: So things are getting better for Buttercup even if she doesn't know it, but will it stay that way? Will HIM find a way to get even her family to turn against her? I just wanted to credit Author Candidate-James Scott again for the OC Kitty Hearts. I haven't done an OC before, but I actually enjoyed writing the part with her in it, thanks for the idea! Please review and tell me how you like the story so far!


	6. Challenge 5

AN: So I hope you've enjoyed this so far :) Get ready for a wild ride…

Chapter 5: Challenge 5

Buttercup's POV

I woke up severely confused, in a place I didn't remember falling asleep in because last time I checked, the kitchen table wasn't this comfortable. Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't upset, just very confused because I don't even remember going to sleep, just waiting at the kitchen table.

A few minutes of being awake was all it took to clear up my confusion and remember what happened last night, making me a little upset. Not mad, just… upset. I got up and walked downstairs, grabbing a bowl of cereal and milk, I wasn't in the mood to cook breakfast. I didn't say a word to anyone as I finished and got ready for yet another challenge. I didn't bother brushing my hair and just threw it in a messy bun that somehow looked decent and brushed my teeth. I grabbed a pair of black Nike shorts and a dark forest green t-shirt that was a few sizes too big, giving the look that I had no pants on. I put on an old pair of black and white Nike cross trainers with Nike mid calf black socks. I didn't bother with any makeup other than mascara today just so I didn't look like I had completely quit on the day.

After getting ready, I read the note and was immediately glad I got dressed before reading the challenge: "Good morning dear! Now that you've read this, you can't change. There is a motorcycle waiting for you outside and if you don't know how to drive it, I suggest you find out quickly because your challenge is to drive it at max speed across the entirety of Townsville without stopping or slowing down. When I said you can't change, I mean it, at this point in time you can't even put on a helmet. Good luck, hope you don't have… an accident"

I didn't care who heard me, I groaned VERY loudly in frustration. Not even eight seconds later, two streaks of pink and blue busted the door down and I quickly hid the note behind my back, I wondered if it would be against the rules if they 'accidentally' found a challenge sitting on my dresser…

"Buttercup, what's wrong?" I had to think fast.

"Uh… This whole morning has been AWFUL! First, I woke up really confused because I didn't even remember falling asleep, I didn't know where I was, then when I finally figured it out I got up and hit my fucking toe on the dresser!" I figured that if I said I stubbed my toe that it would be believable that I was so frustrated, and apparently it was, until Blossom noticed I had shoes on.

"It couldn't have hurt that bad with shoes on, Buttercup. What really happened?" I allowed another grin and I used the hand not holding the now crumpled piece of paper to slap my forehead and wipe at the rest of my face.

"I can't tell you. I want to, but I can't." She started to nod a bit in understanding, but I could see the tense agitation behind it.

"So I'm guessing you have to do something really stupid today? Can you at least tell us what you have to do?" I thought about doing it for a second, but I knew that if she found out, she would definitely stop me.

"Well… stupid would be one way to describe it, but I really can't tell you because you wouldn't let me do it if I did…" That was all it took for her temper to come back.

"We are only trying to look out for you Buttercup! Why are you being like this?" I was about to respond when Bubbles cut in.

"Blossom… Maybe she's not allowed to tell us. Please don't fight her, I hate watching you two fight, we're sisters…" I saw Blossom calm down and I completely forgot what I was about to say, Bubbles just had a way of doing that. I smiled at her and brought her into a hug that really surprised both of us.

"Thanks Bubs…" Before they could react, I ran outside and jumped on the motorcycle, determined to finds out how to work it before driving it through Townsville without brakes until I got out of the city. I looked around the bike and found the gas, really the only thing I was going to need.

I nervously sat on the seat of the motorcycle and revved up the engine, stalling for time, I REALLY didn't want to do this. I saw my sisters come out the door and they both froze.

"Please tell me you at least plan on wearing a helmet…" I gave Bubbles a sheepish look and broke eye contact.

"I wish I could…" She looked scared when I said that and made a movement to try and stop me, so I took that as my cue to get the hell outta there.

"Hopefully I'll see you guys later today!" To my surprise, as soon as I turned it on, the bike started going at least 100 mph and it wasn't a proud moment, but I let myself a small scream. I gained control of my emotions and started to watch where I was going, I didn't want to crash before I even got to Townsville…

Professor's POV

"How do you expect her to complete your challenges if you're trying to kill her?!" HIM had just recently showed me the challenge and I felt a surge of resentment towards the cross dresser from hell.

"Weeeell professor, since when have you known me to play nice? I don't really plan on both of you living! And something tells me it will either be both of you, or her who dies! If she doesn't accept a challenge and offers to take your place in death, I'll even let you have the honors of watching just how I kill her!" I was absolutely disgusted with this… thing. The hatred I felt brought me back to how all of this happened.

••••••••••Flashback••••••••••

I was at a Chinese takeout restaurant, Buttercup's favorite. I had agreed to bring them home dinner from work and after a heated game of rock, paper, scissors, Buttercup won, meaning we were having Chinese takeout.

Once all of our meals came out, I grabbed the plastic bag and the four fortune cookies the lady gave me and walked out. I had never really had any problems with this part of the city before, but for some reason I had a bad feeling as I walked towards my car, which I had to park a block away in order to not pay.

I was almost to my car when I felt something grip my bicep hard and pull me into an alley, covering my face with a rag that made me pass out.

The next time I woke up, I was tied to a chair and in a place I recognized as HIM's lair. I felt bad for thinking this, but I figured there was no way the girls could get me out of this one without someone dying.

••••••••••End Flashback••••••••••

I honestly hoped that I was wrong, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Buttercup died trying to protect me because even if she was my toughest fighter, she was my little girl first.

Kitty's POV

I was walking down the street casually, my shiny amber hair falling a little below my shoulders. I wore a casual white sundress and sandals and decided to grab breakfast out. I pulled out my phone and was about to ask Buttercup if she wanted to meet me, when a huge gust of wind flew by, courtesy of a speeding motorcycle that had just run a red light.

I didn't think much of it and texted her, expecting a quick reply back, but it didn't come. As I walked a few more blocks I came to a halting realization that nobody else would do something as crazy as riding a motorcycle that fast through Townsville traffic, it HAD to be her. I ran down the streets, hoping to find her even if there was no possible way of me actually catching up to her, then I saw something that made all blood drain from my body, a five way accident.

Buttercup's POV

I looked down at the speedometer for a second and almost screamed when I realized I was going 187 mph. I looked up to see what was going on around me and I realized I was about to run into the back of the car, so I looked to the sidewalk, where luckily nobody was walking. I swerved around the car and found my way back on the road, where to my horror, pedestrians were crossing. I don't know why there were so many, but the flow seemed never ending. I looked around for a way not to hit them and my a grin came to my face when I saw one of those tow trucks that looked like a ramp. I veered off to the side where the truck was and rode up the truck, jumping over the front of the truck and the people on the crosswalk. I side in relief as I landed, but in my moment of distraction, I didn't see the huge tractor trailer until it was right in front of me.

Blossom's POV

Bubbles and I went back inside to get breakfast, deciding to eat the dinner that Buttercup made us last night. I was really worried about her, that motorcycle took off really fast and she didn't even have a helmet on, heck it didn't even look like she had pants on! I turned on the news after heating up the ribs and corn and almost dropped the remote as I saw the headline. "Five way car-crash right on Townsville border." A sense of dread washed over me and I could only pray that my sister wasn't a part of it.

A picture came up and all I could see was an overturned tractor trailer, a completely crushed Prius, a wrecked jeep, a flipped over minivan and right outside of Townsville, a motorcycle.

"We are here live at the scene of the car crash and are currently getting updates of survivors and victims of the crash. So far, the paramedics have searched both the Prius and the tractor trailer. A middle aged couple was identified as Jason and Carley Winster from the Prius and were found dead upon arrival. The man in the tractor trailer was also found dead due to a stress induced heart attack as the paramedics arrived on the scene… W-we will get back to you shortly with the remaining news on this tragedy when we come back after this break." I looked over at Bubbles and she had the same shocked and sad look on her face as I did on mine.

"Do you think the motorcycle was Buttercup's?" Bubbles seemed to be on the verge of tears because if she had been involved in that accident, there was almost no chance of her survival.

Kitty's POV

My hand raised to my mouth shakily as I listened to the reporter list off people who died in the accident and watched more people be dragged from cars that were mangled beyond recognition. My eyes alien drifted over to the motorcycle that had made it out of Townsville's border before stopping. The motorcycle itself looked fine aside from a few dents and the torn up wheels. I had to wonder how it escaped with so little damage when all of those cars looked worse. I turned to start my trek home when I heard a miserable sound of pure pain.

"Fuck." That was honestly the weakest sounding 'fuck' I had ever heard and I immediately ran towards the voice.

Blossom's POV

The news station came back on and the lady looked even more sad than before.

"After searching the keep and the minivan, we found five more victims, not one survivor. In the jeep, a teenager by the name Steven Oakes was identified and pronounced dead upon arrival." The lady choked back a sob. "And in the minivan, a family of four, a mother, a father, and two kids were identified and pronounced dead upon contact. The mother was named Sylvia Johnson, the father, Benjamin Johnson, the eight year old boy was named Colin Johnson, and the twelve year old girl was named Olivia Johnson. As for the motorcycle, the body still has yet to be found." After finishing, the reporter broke down in tears and Bubbles and I soon followed.

Buttercup's POV

I immediately thought back to all those action movies I've watched and leaned my bike all the way to the side, sliding underneath the tractor trailer, but it didn't feel nearly as cool as it did in the movies when the motorcycle didn't stay upright like they did in the movies and I fell on my side, the bike still moving. I could feel the severe road rash already cutting into my left leg and my shoulder as well as the burning from the exhaust pipe that rested on my ankle.

When I got out from under the trailer, I saw three other cars in the mess as I slid in the ground. I managed to get the bike upright and weaved between the three vehicles. I lost balance on the bike right on the Townsville border and I held on as it flipped over, landing me… not exactly safely outside of Townsville. I laid on the ground, everything in pain and I looked over to where I just came from and to my horror, I watched all of the cars either flip over or crash into each other.

I felt panic wash over me as I realized that I caused the accident and I dragged myself away from the scene so that nobody would see me if they went to check out the accident. I looked down at my leg to see it bleeding heavily on the outside and a third degree burn on my ankle. My shoulder wasn't in much better shape than the outside of my leg and I was pretty sure I broke a few ribs.

"Fuck." I wanted to scream, but at the time, all I could manage was a pitiful whimper. I went to take out my phone, but dropped it and froze when I heard a voice from the entrance of the alley.

"Buttercup..?" I thought I was about to get in a shit ton of trouble until I turned around and sighed in relief when I saw it was Kit.

"Oh thank God it's you. Look Kit, I normally don't ask for help, but I can't go out there, that accident was all my fault and they're all gonna want me in fucking prison, I can't afford that! Do you have a car?" She looked at me in concern and seemed to be thinking.

"I have a car, but it's on the other side of the city, plus, it'd be kinda hard to get it through that accident…" I peeked out of the alley and my heart jumped in my throat, it looked terrible…

"Kit, p-please tell me n-nobody died." My voice was shaky, but I didn't bother to hide it right now. She didn't respond to me and looked away. I started to hyperventilate and felt tears sting at my eyes. "Kit! Say something!" My breathing started to come out more erratically and I used both of my hands to grip at my hair. She still refused to talk and I felt my panic start to grow until I began to have a panic attack and started sobbing loudly, between gasps for breath. My hands started shaking uncontrollably and my heart was beating wildly.

"Buttercup, calm down! You need to calm down, you're going to give yourself a heart attack." She kneeled down next to me and started shaking my good shoulder, but I could barely even feel it. "Shit! Please Buttercup, don't do this!" I felt her start to violently shake my shoulders, desperately trying to snap me out of it, but the thoughts wouldn't stop running through my head.

 _You killed them_

 _You're a murderer_

 _Their blood is on your hands_

 _Monster_

I finally snapped out of it when I felt a sharp slap on my right cheek. I stopped panicking and wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her shoulder, letting everything out. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be happening, but this was the first time I had caused someone to die, possibly more. Also, for some reason, I found myself trusting the girl I had only met yesterday. I was grateful to her for hugging me back, even if it was sure to ruin her white sundress.

"I-I killed them! How m-many were there? How many d-did I k-kill?" I almost screamed to her between sobs. She didn't answer but only hugged me tighter. My chest clenched painfully and I screamed into her shoulder since sobbing didn't seem to get enough out. "Kit please!" I felt one of her hands move up to take my hair out of the bun that had already fallen out most of the way. She started to pet the top of my head and she finally answered me in a whisper.

"Eight." I let out a high pitched whimper and started to cry harder if possible.

"I-I didn't mean t-to! You be-belie-ve me r-right?" I probably looked like a child to her right now even though I was around one and a half years older, even though I was legally an adult. I just had to let out my frustrations over the last week and now seemed like a great time to do it.

"I believe you… I know you wouldn't intentionally kill anyone." I hugged her tighter and my crying started to lighten.

"Thank you… and sorry if I messed up y-your dress." She let me go and I pulled away from her, wiping the leftover tears from my face.

"Don't worry about the dress." I smiled at her, but then it dropped soon after it came.

"I'm sorry, I don't normally do that kind of shit, I've just been so stressed lately and I've never killed anyone before… I-I'm so sorry! I should just go turn myself in…" I tried to get up to walk out to the crash site, but I fell back down, not being able to support myself at the moment. I tried to get up again, but Kit gently held my shoulder down.

"Buttercup, please, you can't just ruin your life like that!" I turned on her, she didn't understand!

"Ruin my life?! I ENDED eight!" She gave me a sad look. And helped me up and let me lean on her.

"At least let me help you…" I was grateful to her for that, most people would've left me alone.

"Thanks Kit." She smiled sadly at me and nodded.

I limped over to the crash site and all eyes turned towards us, the paramedics immediately rushing over to me. I was taken from Kit and put on a stretcher and they started cleaning out my road rash. I let out a muffled scream of pain through my teeth as they doused it in fucking alcohol after they got all the rocks and glass out. There was no way that was necessary. After their small torture session, they covered it in gauze and wrapped it. After that, they called over the reporters and the cops to ask some questions.

"What happened to you?" The cop sounded very accusing and I knew he was already suspecting I was the one on the motorcycle, so I confirmed it for him.

"I was the one on the motorcycle… I couldn't use my brakes so when I came near a crosswalk I used a tow truck as a ramp to jump over the people who were crossing the street, but when I landed I was right in front of the tractor trailer and I didn't want to hit it, so I tried that cool action movie thing where they tilt their motorcycle to go under something, but mine didn't stay up like theirs always did and I slid on my side, which is how I got this roadburn. When I got from under the tractor trailer I managed to get my bike back upright, but then I saw four other cars moving in different directions so I swerved around all of them, but because my wheel was so messed up, it blew out and it flipped over the Townsville border. I'm so sorry! You can arrest me, seriously I deserve it!" I put my hands out to them so they could handcuff me but they only laughed.

"All of those cars ran a red light, you had the right of way! However, you were speeding, so I'm going to have to give you a ticket." I blinked in shock and I smiled a huge smile.

"So this isn't my fault? I didn't kill anyone?!" The cops smiled at me amused and nodded as did the other people around me. I started to sit up to look at Kit, but I fell back down and gripped at my side, I definitely broke a few ribs…

Professor's POV

I broke down when I saw the fatal accident, saying there were no survivors. I threw a watery glare at HIM and realized they he actually looked angry. I thought he wanted both of us dead… I pictured my middle daughter lying on the ground bloody and unmoving and it broke my heart, that was my fault…

I kept my head in my hands, wanting desperately to hear her voice telling me she was fine and that she wasn't actually dead and almost as if someone was granting my wishes, I heard her voice come on the television, telling everyone what happened. I looked up to see her green eyes full of sorrow and guilt as she retold the events that led up to the crash.

I couldn't help but chuckle lowly when she said she tried to do an action movie thing that didn't work, even though it could've been the very thing that saved her.

I gasped in shock as she offered herself up, however, since she never liked to take responsibility of her actions, she always tried to blame it on someone else! I was scared that they were going to arrest her for a moment, but was very relieved to see that she only got a ticket for speeding since all the other cars had run a red light. The smile on her face lifted my spirits considerably. Out of my three daughters, her smile was my favorite. It's not that hers was better, it was just that when she actually, genuinely smiled, it meant she was really happy, and lately I hadn't seen too many of those.

HIM growled after the news story was over and barked at me. "Don't you think both of you are going to get out of this! She will be dead by the end of the challenge! And when she dies, you die!" I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and managed a glare.

"Buttercup's tougher than you think, she can make it through any of these crazy stunts you throw at her, with or without her powers!" His snarl slowly turned up into an unsettling grin.

"Then maybe I should start throwing out some challenges to mess with her mind…" My face paled until it had no color. Had I just made her challenges harder?

Bubbles's POV

I looked back up to the screen as I heard Buttercup's voice through the speakers. "Blossom, she's alive!" Blossom was by my side in an instant and we hugged each other tightly, sharing our relief.

"Oh thank God!" I heard Blossom mumbling into my shoulder. After a while, we pulled away from each other.

"Let's get Chinese takeout for when she gets home!" Blossom nodded in agreement and we drove my car to her favorite place, the same place the Professor was supposed to bring us food from.

When we walked in the house, we saw Buttercup sitting on the couch with a girl I had never seen before. "Hey, Buttercup! We brought home Chinese takeout, your favorite! How are you feeling, and who is this?" She looked at me, then the food and smiled in a way that made her eyes light up.

"Hey guys! Thank you so much! Umm, I mean I've felt better, but I've also felt worse and this is my friend Kit, I met her the other day and I kinda ruined her dress today so I let her have some of my clothes so she isn't walking around looking like a serial killer." The girl playfully pushed Buttercups unwrapped shoulder. She wore a loose white tank top and light denim shorts that I recognized as mine, but after looking at the two of them that Buttercup's shorts would be too big for her. She had one of Blossom's flannels that Buttercup stole a week ago wrapped around her waist, but my oldest sister didn't seem to notice.

"It's nice to meet you Bubbles and Blossom, Buttercup told me a lot about you guys!" Blossom and I smiled and returned the greeting.

"It's nice to meet you too Kit!"

Buttercup's POV

We ended up all giving Kit a part of our meal so that we all had the same amount, and surprisingly, I didn't mind. My sisters and Kit seemed to get along well and for that, I was glad.

After dinner, I drove Kit home. "Are you sure I'm safe in a car with you driving?" I shot her a playful glare as we walked out to my shiny black vintage camaro.

"Haha, aren't you just the little comedian! We'll step off, that's my job." She laughed at my comment and hopped in the passenger side as I took the driver seat. "But in all reality, I'll make sure you don't get hurt." She looked comfortable, so I pulled out of the driveway and followed the directions to her house. To her relief, I got her home without any scares or accidents. She got out of the car to walk inside, but before she could close the door I had to say something.

"Kit, wait!" She held the door open and looked at me expectantly. "Thanks for being there for me… Seriously, it means a lot more to me than you think." She smiled at me in return.

"It's no problem, Buttercup, we're friends, remember?" With that, she closed the door and pranced into her house. I felt my chest warm up, glad that I had a friend through all this stupid challenge shit. With that, I drove off, back to my house so I could call it a night, it had been a long day.

AN: So there's the fifth challenge! That next one should be less stressful and more lighthearted, hope you've enjoyed the story so far! Please review :)


	7. Challenge 6

AN: Yeah I don't really have much to say, hope you've been enjoying the story!

Chapter 6: Challenge 6

Buttercup's POV

Even with all the injuries and near death experiences, this challenge wasn't nearly as bad as it could be. My sisters are being nice to me, most guys in Townsville think I'm hot shit, and I made a really good friend. I sat up in my bed and stretched until I felt satisfied. I hopped out of bed and immediately walked to my dresser, ready to take on the sixth challenge. I was feeling pretty confident going into this one even though I was still pretty (extremely) sore from the day before. Yup, I got rhymes, you never know when they will come in handy. I picked up the letter and started to read it and honestly was surprisingly happy with the challenge: "Dear Buttercup, I hope you aren't too injured from your little car crash! I see that you handle physical challenges well, so here's your next one; There is a huge party tonight starting at 9 PM and you have to attend and stay until you either get kicked out, brought home with a guy, or the party ends. Have fun, party hard, you must get completely trashed, make sure you are drunk when you leave the party."

I couldn't tell if this guy was dense or if he honestly believed that this was a hard challenge for me. My family didn't know, but I partied all the damn time… I just usually had a friend with me. Maybe Kit liked to party! I quickly pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent her a text, not caring if she was still asleep or not, this was more important.

Me: Hey Kit! Good morning sunshine, how would you like to come crash a party with me tonight?

Kit: YOU BITCH I WAS SLEEPING!

Me: ouch, Kitty has claws lol, but seriously, wanna come?

Kit: maybe I would consider it if you didn't just fucking wake me up!

Me: Fine I'll just go by myself and possibly get drugged and raped.

Kit: Read: 7:38

"Fuckin' bitch." I grumbled to myself and walked downstairs to see Bubbles and Blossom waiting at the table for me. "Did I do something?" I didn't mean for it to sound as harsh as it did, but I wasn't in a great mood after my short conversation with Kitty so I didn't bother excusing myself. I made eye contact with Bubbles and she surprised me with a glare.

"We were just wondering if you could make breakfast this morning, but I'm not sure if I even want you to anymore. We've been very tolerant of your recent behavior and secretiveness, but you've been acting like a big brat! I don't care if you're injured, you have no right to treat us like this!" I raised an eyebrow at her outburst and gave her a blank look.

"You done?" She let out a huge sigh and the look of anger from her face disappeared.

"Yeah… Sorry about that." Bubbles looked guilty and I absolutely hated that look. Guilt didn't suit her very well.

"S'okay. Do you guys want to do something today? I'm free until later tonight." I looked between my two sisters and was pleased to see that they both looked happy to accept the offer.

"Buttercup, we'd love to! I feel like we haven't had a sister day in forever…" Blossom's excitement actually helped to improve my mood from this morning's conversation with Kit.

"Let's go to the mall!" my lip turned up in disgust, but I quickly covered it up when I saw how happy they both looked. I could take one for the team just this once.

"Ugh fine, I guess we can go to the mall…" Both of my sisters squealed loudly in delight, and despite the annoying nature of the noise, it brought a smile to my face. "Ok hurry and get ready, we can go out for breakfast too, I'm feeling kinda lazy." I didn't even wait to hear their response before running upstairs to change.

I decided on a simple look so it would be easier to get ready for the party tonight. I jumped in the shower and brushed my teeth at the same time so that my morning routine wouldn't take as long. When I got out, I dried off and picked out a simple outfit: black leggings, a dark forest green football jersey that was a few sizes too big, and white air jordans. I put in three silver crystal earrings in each ear and my normal makeup. I flipped my hair over and shook my head until it had a messy wavy look, then put just enough hairspray in it so it wouldn't get frizzy when it dried. I flipped it back over and parted it so that my bangs weren't even noticeable. Without even looking in the mirror, I ran out of my room and slid down the railing, making it to the empty living room. "UGH HURRY UP! I'M HUNGRY!"

"Give us time Buttercup!" I groaned overdramatically and flopped on the couch. I stared at the ceiling as I waited for my sisters to finish primping when my phone started buzzing, indicating that someone was trying to facetime me. I pulled my phone out of the front of my leggings and checked who was calling me: Kit-Kat, my name for Kit in my phone. I contemplated declining it, but thought better of it and picked up.

"Hey Kit-Kat, I thought you were still bitter about the wakeup call." I immediately regretted saying that when she began sputtering apologies, on the verge of crying.

"I'm so, so, so sorry! That was so rude of me to do, you were just trying to be nice and you've been nothing but nice to me and I keep doing this kind of shit to you. You must hate-"

"Kit, It's fine, I'm not mad at you and I don't hate you… as long as you come to the party with me tonight." I added the last part as a joke, but I honestly hoped she would agree to come anyways.

"Buttercup, I'm not a huge party person…"

"Kitty Hearts I NEED you to come to this party with me! I need a party buddy, someone might put something in my drink if you aren't there!" She looked skeptical, but I stared at her through the screen with the widest, most pleading eyes I could possibly make, courtesy of Bubbles teaching me the look. Eventually she sighed in defeat and I squealed in victory. "AHH I LOVE YOU KIT! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!" she rolled her eyes, but I could see the small smile on her face.

"Yeah, whatever. When are you picking me up?"

"9:30 tonight, dress sexy! See ya Kit!" She looked like she was going to protest, but before she could, I hung up the phone and slid it back into the waistline of my leggings. "GUYS C'MON!" Within a second, they were both down in the living room, finally ready to go out.

We walked out to my car and jumped in, me driving, Blossom in shotgun, and Bubbles in the back. I pulled out of the driveway and drove along the road until we came to a diner. I parked perfectly between two smart cars and we all piled out and walked into the Diner, being seated almost immediately. Since we always came here to eat, we kinda have a special here that the worlaiyress would put on before we even sat down.

"So, what have you guys been up to lately, I don't really see you guys too much outside of the house…" I looked out the window that was next to our booth, I really have been pretty distant from them.

"We fought a monster the other day, but you know about that already. We've gone to the beach a few times already, but that's all really, you've done a lot more than us." It was hard to miss the slightly bitter tone that Blossom used on the last part. My nose twitched slightly in irritation, but I wanted to have a good time with my sisters so I kept myself in check.

"Well, gotta have stories to tell when you're older, right?" Blossom sent me a sharp glare, obviously not amused by my response. I put my hands in front of me in a defensive gesture. She looked like she was about to lecture me, but that was precisely when the food came out, saved by the bell.

The waitress sat a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of Bubbles, a chicken Cesar salad for Blossom, and a stack of chocolate chip waffles with a side of bacon, eggs, and hash browns. My smile grew wide and I dug in without hesitation.

"Slow down, Buttercup! You have time!" I looked up at Blossom and saw a disgusted look on her face.

"Buh ih Rwiley guwd!" I spoke to her with my mouth full and she turned away from me.

"Ugh! Show SOME table manners!" I just shrugged and continued with my meal, enjoying every bite of it. I was obviously the first to finish, which might seem odd since Blossom literally only had a salad and I had more food than the other two combined, but I was definitely the eater of the three of us. I tapped my foot impatiently as I watched them eat their food slowly.

"Why do you guys take so long to eat?! God it's gonna be time for me to go by the time we get to the mall and I kinda need a new outfit for tonight!" I added the last part on so Bubbles would eat faster, she has always wanted to help me pick out an outfit. My strategy seemed to work as she picked up the pace, stuffing pancakes into her mouth like I had done with my waffles earlier. Blossom shivered in distaste and continued to slowly eat the last of her salad, thank god she ordered something small.

The Waitress brought us the check, seeing that we were almost done and I pulled out the money to cover my share of the check and eventually my sisters did the same. Once the waitress collected the Check, we all said our thanks and goodbyes and walked out to my car, well I sprinted and jumped in without bothering with the doors.

"You're always overdoing things Buttercup! Just calm down for one day while you're with us and please don't drag us into any of this crazy stuff you've been getting into lately." I rolled my eyes to the point where I thought they were gonna get stuck, then shot a devious glare at my unnecessarily uptight sister.

"Gee Bloss, ever heard the saying don't piss off the fucking driver?" She glared heavily at me.

"Buttercup you better n-" with that, I took of fast and slammed on brakes so that her face smashed into the air bag, but not hard enough to activate it, just hard enough to get her to fuck off a little. She let out a small growl, but aside from that, nothing. My smirk grew as she sulked in the seat beside me.

The car ride to the mall was only five minutes from the Diner and once we got there and parked, we all piled out of my car and walked towards the huge building that I usually try so hard to avoid.

"Guys I'm having second thoughts about this." Both Bubbles and Blossom stopped abruptly in front of me, causing me to stumble into them. "What the fuck guys!" They turned around slowly, almost as if it was from a horror movie.

"There. Are. No. Second. Thoughts. Understand?" I nodded my head rapidly and followed them into the overcrowded building. I looked at all the girly stores in disgust, especially Victoria's Secret since I had to wear that shitty excuse for clothing to the polar plunge.

"Why do you guys like this shit?" I asked myself more than I did them, but Bubbles, being as naive as she is, answered me anyways.

"There's always room for more shirts, jeans, shorts, dresses, sandals, rompers, boots, leggings, bras, panties, leggings, crop tops, socks, shoes-"

"You already said shoes."

"No, I said sandals and boots, they're different." If I could roll my eyes any harder, I would have.

"Look, I'm looking for party outfits, where should I go? It can't be childish and I have to look hot. Bubbles, I'm counting on you to help me here ok?" Her eyes got this brilliant sparkle that screamed that she was going to hook me up. She grabbed my arm and started to fly, obviously forgetting I didn't have powers at the moment.

"BUBBLES SLOW DOWN!" She immediately slammed on brakes and I was sent flying into a store that I couldn't see the name of as I flew through the doors. In some stroke of luck, I flew right into a clothes rack, making the impact a lot less painful. I looked around at the clothes I had crash landed into and my mouth dropped open a little, these were the exact kinds of clothes I was looking for.

As I glanced around I saw short skirts, crop tops, heels, boots, leggings, shorts dresses, and anything any party gore would dream of. I walked around the store and picked up a pair of dark ripped denim shorts and a dark forest green wrap around crop top. I picked up a badass looking leather jacket and a pair of black six inch lace up boots. I went to the back to try them on and got a fitting room. After putting everything on, I realized that the leather jacket wasn't needed for this outfit, but I wanted it anyways. The top showed the prefect amount of skin and the shorts were the perfect length, just covering my butt and fit my ass perfectly. The boots only made the look sexier, the Perfect touch to the outfit. I changed back into my clothes and stepped out to buy them when Bubbles and Blossom ran up to me, freaking out.

"Oh my god I'm so glad we found you! We didn't even see what store you went in after Bubbles flung you!"

"I'm sorry it was an accident! Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I crashed into a clothes rack so it wasn't so bad…" They visibly sighed in relief, then eyed the pile of clothes I had in my hand.

"Is that your outfit?" I sent a small smirk and nodded, not saying anything as I got up to the register.

"What shoes did you get?" Bubbles was eyeing the box with great curiosity, she had some sort of infatuation with shoes.

"You'll see when we get home." I handed the money to the cashier and took the bag she gave me and started to walk out. They caught up and Blossom grabbed my arm.

"We aren't done shopping yet! We still need to go to PINK, yes you have to come in with us, Vinyard Vines, Abercrombie, Hollister, American Eagle, and Express." I wanted to DIE. Well, I liked Express… I unwillingly followed my sisters into PINK and decided I could buy something to piss Blossom off. She and Bubbles were looking around at leggings, hoodies, and t-shirts, so I slipped into Victoria's Secret and started looking through the bras and panties. I picked up a push-up bra with a nude base and black lace overtop, then its matching panty, a see through lacy black thong. Without telling them, I paid for the set and took the bag, seeing them while getting out of line.

"Hey Buttercup, what'd you get?" I gave Blossom my troublemaker look and shrugged, walking out of the store to wait for them. Once they finished checking out, we went to all of their favorite stores, me complaining the whole time.

After what felt like a decade, they were done, or so I thought. Right before we left the god forsaken building, Bubbles and Blossom blindsided me and dragged me into MAC makeup store. Without letting me go, they told one of the employees that I wanted a makeover, Bubbles shooting me a dangerous look that dared me to resist. I sighed in defeat and let it happen, I didn't have my powers right now, they could force me to do anything.

I was led to a stool and the lady got to work on my face, applying foundation that I was sure hid my freckles, eyeshadow that I wasn't sure the color of, eyeliner, the only thing I was ok with so far, contour, mascara, and from what I could see, baby pink lipstick. I honestly didn't want to see myself, but the lady held a mirror up to my face and I had to admit, I looked like a fucking supermodel! Turns out, the lady gave me a smoky eyeshadow and I actually liked it.

"She'll take everything you used on her!" I whipped around to glare at Bubbles, but she just gave me this evil look that made me do it. I groaned in frustration and bought all $356 of the stupid shit I didn't even need.

After that, we left the mall and drove back home, I didn't say a word to either of them, they pissed me off today. We only stopped for Wendy's since we were all hungry, but after that, I went back to Ignoring them. Eventually, we got home, and when we did, I threw my new clothes in the washer, finishing my chicken nuggets and fries and watched TV while waiting for them to be done.

About two episodes of Game of Thrones later, I switched over my clothes and turned on the next episode. I was thoroughly enjoying it, but about ten minutes in, the TV turned off. I felt anger boil in my chest and whipped around to stare Blossom and Bubbles down with the fiercest glare I could manage. Both actually jumped back a few inches and looked honestly scared for their lives. Good. I still have it.

"Turn. It. On." I let my lip curl up and showed my teeth, probably looking extremely dangerous and animalistic, but whatever works. Bubbles, who has never seen this side of me, trembled in place, looking towards the remote in Blossom's hand. When neither made a move to turn it back on, I violently stood up, knocking over the couch as I got up to show them I wasn't playing. Someone was about to die and I wanted to know who.

"If this television isn't back on and I don't see who dies in the next ten seconds, someone in this room will die. And it won't be me." Immediately, Bubbles reached for the remote, but Blossom moved it away from her.

"Blossom, I think she's serious." Bubbles whimpered, She was very clearly terrified.

"ten."

"She won't actually hurt us Bubbles. We have powers and she doesn't."

"For that comment you're at three seconds now."

"BLOSSOM PLEASE!"

"Two."

"NO BUBBLES!"

"One." With that, I picked up the coffee table with ease despite my lack of powers. I spun in a circle and threw the table in the direction of Blossom, and since she was caught of guard with my strength, it hit its mark. Bubbles screamed as Blossom flew back with the table and crashed into the wall. She tried to stop me as I ran towards the downed Blossom, but i roughly shoved her to the ground. Blossom threw the table back at me as I came closer, but I rolled under it and grabbed her ankles, pulling her back down to the ground. I jumped on top of her as soon as she fell and punched her hard in the stomach, successfully winding her.

"YOU ALREADY. FORCED ME. TO BUY. ALL. THAT. STUPID. MAKEUP SHIT. AND NOW. YOU TURN OFF. MY FUCKING. TV SHOW. FOR NO. FUCKING. REASON. TOO!" With every pause I took, I also delivered a hard punch to Blossom's face that wasn't looking so confident anymore. Since I didn't have my powers, I couldn't REALLY mess her up, but as of right now, her face looked like a big, painful bruise. "AND DON'T YOU EVER, I MEAN EVER, TALK ABOUT ME LIKE I CAN'T KICK YOUR ASS EVER AGAIN! IT DOESN'T MATTER IF I HAVE POWERS OR NOT, I'M NOT SOME WEAK FUCKING HUMAN!" I actually saw fear cross her expression as I cocked my fist back again. I went to deliver one last punch for her to remember, but I felt my arm get pulled back as I started to bring it down on my older sister.

My eyes widened in horror as I realized what I had just done. I was mad, really mad, but I didn't want to brutally attack her! "Shit, Bloss I'm so sorr-"

"No. You're not sorry. You never are. If you had your powers you probably would've killed me! The professor was right in taking your powers, you're INSANE! I don't think I would even feel safe around you with your powers anymore!" I didn't show it, but that actually hurt a lot, I really was sorry…

"No, Bloss, I really am s-" She abruptly stood up and shot me a hateful glare that made me want to cry, I didn't want her to hate me, she was my sister!

"I don't want to hear it Buttercup. I'm done with you, your attitude, your anger, and your craziness. Just stay out of my way until the professor comes home. Then MAYBE I'll THINK about LOOKING at you!" I felt physical pain at her words, I somehow managed to make one of the only people who still cared about me hate me too. She gave me one last disgusted look and turned her back on me, storming up to her room.

"I'm sorry…" I didn't let any tears fall, but it felt like I had a hundred pound weight installed in my heart. I was going to need this party tonight.

"She doesn't mean it, she'll forget about it by tomorrow morning. She's just being a drama queen!" I forced a laugh at Bubbles's joke and went to get my clothes from the dryer.

I went up to my room and changed, my mood improving when I saw how great I looked in my outfit and the makeup that I was so upset about earlier. I fixed my hair a little, only parting it so that there was more hair on the left side, then grabbed my licence and keys before jumping in my car. I drove to Kit's place and honked my horn as soon as I got there. When she didn't come out within five minutes I honked again, but this time I held it down to piss her off a little bit. I held the horn for three minutes and got many vicious complaints but neighbors, but I didn't really pay any mind. I only stopped when Kit walked out in a pair of low rise light denim shorts that were a little longer than mine, a pair of 4 inch heeled booties , a loose, lowcut gray crop top and an oversized black and white flannel over top. I smiled innocently at her as she glared at me from her door.

"What is WRONG with you?!" I busted out laughing, that was the exact reaction I had been going for.

"Too much! Get in the car, we're already late and I really need a drink after today. Can you drive back? Or are you gonna get trashed too." She looked at me somewhat concerned.

"Something happen?" I sighed in exasperation.

"Yeah. Got in a huge fight with Bloss and now she hates me. Honestly though, I'm trying to forget about it. You look nice by the way." I wanted a subject change and she fell for it.

"Thanks! It took me a while to put this outfit together, I'm glad you approve!" I laughed at her happiness from pleasing me. She really was a sweet girl. "You look amazing too, by the way. Every guy there is gonna be all over you." I flashed her a friendly smile and then turned my attention back to the road.

"Thanks Kit." We turned on the radio and sang loudly all the way to the party, earning amused looks from all the cars around us. We finally pulled up to a house, at least thirty cars were parked in the driveway and I could hear the music from a block away. I parked in a dark secluded place near the woods so that no drunk ass fool would damage it.

Once I turned off the car, Kit and I hopped out of the car and inconspicuously slipped into the party and saw that the house and the backyard were pretty crowded, almost everyone had a cup in their hands. As soon as we walked in the house, almost every male head turned and stared at the two of us, obviously more than happy to have us there. I gazed around the party and dragged Kit over to a shot competition that looked pretty intense. I watched as one of the guys was so drunk that he missed his mouth, spilling his shot all over his shirt. I started laughing loudly enough for them to hear and caught their attention immediately.

"So sexy, if you think it's so funny why don't you try to take Jason? He beats everyone." Kit tugged at my arm to try to get me away from the situation, but to her disappointment, I wasn't one to turn down a challenge. Even without my powers, my tolerance would be very high due to how much I drink WITH my powers.

"Bring it." The guys moved the loser of the last competition from his seat and I took his place, the guy known as Jason sitting across from me.

"You're about to be embarrassed sweetheart." Some random dude put a shot glass in front of each of us and filled it with whiskey, my favorite outside of fireball. We picked up the shot glass at the same time and threw it back, slamming the glass down at the same time, neither of us showing any reaction. I motioned for a refill and the refill guy was more than happy to fill both glasses. This time I didn't wait for Jason to pick up his glass, I just threw back the shot I was so used to and slammed the empty glass on the table indicating that I needed a refill before Jason could even lift his glass. He looked a little shaken, but he took his shot and motioned for a refill. Both of us got yet another shot and I took mine just as fast as the last time.

"Hey can we speed this game up a bit, I can feel the alcohol wearing off as I'm waiting for my next shot." Jason didn't seem too pleased by my comment especially since all the guys laughed at the joke that was directed at him. He threw back his shot and slowly put his glass down, probably to piss me off.

"I like to take my time sunshine." I rolled my eyes hard at the pet names he's been using and I look over at Kit to see her flirting with a guy, but still keeping an eye on me. I look Jason directly in his brown eyes and took my next shot without breaking eye contact. He narrowed his eyes and did the same thing, thinking he looked intimidating. We continued to effortlessly throw back each shot for about ten more shots. That was when the crowd cheered for the shot to be changed to vodka. I wasn't a fan, but I could definitely handle it perfectly fine. I held my breath as I took the shot so I wouldn't taste it as much and forced myself not to make a face. Jason's poker face wasn't nearly as good and I could tell he was more comfortable with whiskey.

"Aww, did that burn on the way down?" I teased my opponent and he bought into it, signaling for the next shot.

"Hell no." I grabbed my next shot and repeated the process from the last one, he took his and tried harder not to pull a face, but I could still see the small grimace. I mouthed the word 'baby' and I could swear the guy growled at me, but I wasn't phased. They decided to change again after six more shots of vodka and we were both obviously pretty drunk. I still smirked though as they brought out the fireball, I could drink the shit outta that. We both got our shot glasses and I downed mine as fast as the first one, Jason a little slower. I had to admit, he was pretty good to be at twenty one shots. After seven more shots of fireball, Jason was shit faced drunk and I was drunk too, but not as bad as he was.

I grabbed at the shot and tossed it back bringing my total to thirty shots. Jason struggled, but he drank his like it was a cup rather than a shot glass. I started laughing like a fucking fool at that and almost fell out of the fucking chair, that looked so damn funny!

"Dude you literally just drank that like it was a cup!" I hung onto some of the words since I was drunk, but I started laughing again soon, only stopping when our shots were put in front of us. I took the shot like a champ and Jason stared at it, contemplating whether he wanted to quit or throw up, I hope he just quits. My luck has never really been good though, and this guy was stubborn, so he tried to drink it, but one sip in, he threw up on the ground beside himself, and I jumped away from the table to get out of the line of fire. I was standing on my chair and smirked down at the loser in victory.

"Told ya I'd win you drunk piece of shit!" I busted out laughing, louder than I normally would and fell off of the chair and continued to laugh on the ground. All the guys around me stared in awe at the fact that I had bested the undefeated drinking champ. I laughed like a fool on the ground for a long while until I forgot what I was even laughing about.

I got up fast, too fast, and stumbled into a well built guy with dark hair and blue eyes. If I knew him, I certainly wouldn't have been able to remember.

"Hi I'm Buttercup." I was currently bracing myself against his VERY well defined chest and was probably closer than I would like to be if I weren't so drunk. He didn't seem to mind though since I felt his hand slide to my lower back, touching my bare skin.

"Hey there Buttercup. I'm Bryce, let's dance." I was too drunk to object and let him lead me to the dance floor. As I was walking, I felt his hand slide down farther to my ass, but that only made me laugh in the drunken stupor I was in. We got to a crowd of people and he pulled me closer so that my bit was grinding into him. I looked around feeling uncomfortable and made direct eye contact with Kit, the only person in this place that I knew. She was talking with a group of guys and looked like she was having fun, but she seemed to pick up on my distress. I wasn't one to turn down a good time, but I was getting bad vibes from this guy even with being totally trashed.

His hands moved from my hips more towards the front and I tried to move his hands back up, but he was really strong and being drunk and powerless, there wasn't much I could do to stop him.

"Stoooopp" I whined a little, hoping he would get the message, but he only reached down further, making my situation worse.

"Make me." I tried to break away from him, but he held me back strongly. "Oh wait, you can't." I looked around frantically for Kit and couldn't have been more relieved to hear Kit's voice.

"She told you to stop asshole! Let the girl go." The guys who were with Kit also came to my defense.

"Dude, that's not cool, she told you to stop." The guy squeezed my front and I squeaked loudly, a sound I usually never make.

"Make me." He said those words again and I struggled against him harder. In return, he stuck his hand on the inside of my thigh. I felt my anger build and I stomped on his foot with my heel, effectively getting the ass off of me. Kit grabbed my arm and started to drag me out of the house.

"Let's get you home, Buttercup. Your sisters are going to kill me…"

Kit's POV

I practically had to hold Buttercup. She was so drunk that she couldn't even walk without being fully supported. When we got close enough to her car, I stopped to grab the keys out of her back pocket and unlocked the doors. I supported Buttercup with my shoulder and opened the passenger side to put her in and buckle her up. She was completely unaware of everything going on around her, but was still conscious. I closed the passenger door and got in the driver's seat, pulling on the seat belt. I put the key in the car and turned it on. I went to put the car in reverse, but then I realized one small detail, I didn't know how to drive a manual car.

"Shit. Buttercup, we have a problem." I knew she probably didn't even comprehend what I said, but I needed to feel like I was in this with somebody else. I suddenly got an idea and pulled her phone out of her pocket and unlocked it, she told me her passcode earlier. I knew she would be mad at me for this, but it was the only way to get home. I looked through her contacts and called the person I was looking for. It didn't even ring once before she declined the call.

"You have reached the voicemail box of Blossom U-" I hung up the phone and tried Bubbles. They must've had one hell of a fight. I waited as the phone rang. Luckily, Bubbles still seemed to care about my drunk friend.

"Hey Buttercup!" She sounded peppy as she usually did.

"Actually, Bubbles, it's Kit. Do you know how to drive a manual car?" She took a while to respond, but she did nonetheless, sounding more concerned than earlier.

"Umm, no, but if you're with Buttercup she knows how to drive one. Why didn't you just ask her?" I cringed at her question, I could only hope she wouldn't get too upset when I told her that her sister was completely wasted.

"Umm, she had a little too much to drink and can't really drive… or talk." The line went quiet for a while and I was a little scared that Bubbles was mad at me.

"Blossom knows how to drive manual, but she and Buttercup aren't really on good terms right now… I'll go check with her." I could hear her call Blossom faintly and Blossom's responses.

"Blossom!"

"What?"

"Can you come here for a second?" I heard the sound of feet moving down the steps.

"What do you need Bubbles?"

"Ok hear me out. Kit needs help driving a manual car. Can you pick up Buttercup's car and let her drive yours?" For a while I couldn't hear anything.

"Why can't Buttercup drive them home?" The way Blossom spit out her name made something shoot through my chest, maybe it was anger. How could she say her sister's name with so much hatred?

"She isn't capable of driving at the moment."

"And WHY is she not capable of driving herself?" She didn't sound the least bit concerned and it angered me a bit. Sure, Buttercup was a little rough around the edges at times, but she really had a good heart.

"She drank a little too much…"

"Then that's HER situation to deal with! She put her and her friend in that situation but being as brash and irresponsible as she always is and she should have to deal with the consequences without me having to bail her out."

"Blossom, Kit's in a bad situation too! Don't penalize Kit because you're mad at Buttercup! You can't just leave them there!"

"Kit shouldn't have gone to a party with her. She should've stopped her from getting too drunk to function. I'm not going to bail them out because they made a bad decision."

"Blossom! If she didn't go, Buttercup would've been there alone and something really bad could've happened to her!"

"Too bad she went with her then." I couldn't take the way Blossom was talking about her sister and I screamed into the phone so she could hear me.

"How could you wish something horrible on your sister?! I hope you know she only drank as much as she did because of some fight with you that she didn't want to talk about! I'm honestly not sure if it's safe to be as drunk as she is! She obviously cares about you a lot so how could you just talk about her like she's an enemy?!" They must've forgot that I was still on the phone because their debated halted and neither of them talked. Blossom was the one to break the silence.

"Look up a YouTube video, I already told her I wanted nothing to do with her and I'm going to keep my word on that." Before I could voice my disgust at her answer, she hung up the phone.

Since I really didn't have much more of a choice, I looked up a YouTube video and practiced shifting gears in the driveway until I felt comfortable driving it. After a half hour of practice, I nervously moved on to the main road. Even though the ride wasn't smooth and stalled a few times, I managed to get her home. I parked the car and turned it off. I got out of the car and moved to the other side to get Buttercup to see that she passed out during the ride, which concerned me a little. I pulled her out of the passenger seat and picked her up, realizing how light she actually was. I carried her bridal style to the door and rang the doorbell. Bubbles answered the door within seconds and took Buttercup from me. I got a good look at her and realized how peaceful she looked compared to how troubled she seemed when she came to pick me up.

"Sorry about this… she seemed really troubled when she came to pick me up and I guess she handled it by participating in a shot competition…" Bubbles looked down at her sister and smiled lightly.

"It's fine, I'm just glad you guys are ok. You know, it's not too often that I get to see her this quiet and peaceful… I'm sorry about Blossom earlier… You can spend the night here, the Professor won't be home for most of the summer so you can just take his bed for tonight." I smiled at. Bubbles's hospitality.

"Thank you." She smiled at me and looked back down at Buttercup.

"No, thank you for looking out for our sister, you really are a good friend to her, she doesn't have many of those lately…" I looked back at my friend and smiled at her passed out form.

"Goodnight Bubbles." She smiled back at me and turned to put Buttercup to bed.

"Goodnight Kit."

Professor's POV

HIM walked in the room with dinner and a videotape. I knew it was pretty impossible for her to die unless she drank so much she got alcohol poisoning or tried to drive home drunk, but I knew she was smart enough not to do either of those, so I wasn't too worried. Apparently HIM set up cameras around the house so I could watch everything that happened at the party so she wouldn't know that it was being filmed. I thought I knew what I was about to watch, that she would drink until she was drunk and leave, but what I saw was quite the opposite.

I was appalled when I first saw her walk in with a pair of shorts that didn't fit my standards, a crop top that showed WAY too much skin, and a pair of heeled lace up boots that made her look like a party slut. Where did this come from? She hadn't done this before! ...Had she?

I tried not to watch as she professionally threw back shot after shot until she reached thirty, there was absolutely no way this wasn't a regular thing for her. This was definitely going to be a talk next time I saw her… She actually WON the competition and started flirting with a stranger she stumbled into and I watched in amazement as she danced so suggestively with the guy! The only comfort I had was when she didn't let him touch her below her hips. I sighed in relief that I wouldn't have to watch my daughter do… that.

"So now you see your innocent little daughter isn't so innocent after all!" That was why he did that, he wanted me to doubt her!

"You did this to make me doubt her goodness! I'm not going to forget that she's doing this to save my life! You can't make me hate that girl, I never will! I love all three of my daughters unconditionally and you can't do anything to change that!" HIM smirked mischievously.

"We'll see about that…"

AN: Sorry guys couldn't help but put some drama in the middle, it is a drama fic after all. Buttercup didn't almost die though so it's all good! Let's see if her next challenge is just as easy. Hope you enjoyed it, please review!


	8. Challenge 7

AN: If you are prone to heart attacks, I suggest taking it easy on this chapter. AHAHAHAHAHA now find out what happens in this chapter. LOTS OF DRAMA!

Chapter 7: Challenge 7

Kitty's POV

It was 5:30 in the morning when I was awoken by the sound of someone banging pots and pans together. I threw off my blankets and stormed out of my door to see Blossom making as much noise as possible outside of Buttercup's door.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? IT'S 5:30 IN THE AM AND YOU'RE THE ONLY DAMN PERSON IN THIS HOUSE WHO IS WILLING TO BE UP RIGHT NOW!" I was heated, I was up late and I was PISSED. Blossom glared at me, obviously not happy that I had raised my voice at her, the AUDACITY I had!

"This isn't your house, you know. I can do what I want and if I want to make my hungover sister's life miserable, then I will and you have no right to do anything about it." I now knew why Buttercup had such a short temper, this bitch could be insufferable!

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! THAT'S JUST SO RUDE! YOU SHOULD WANT TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SISTER, NOT MAKE HER LIFE MORE HELL THAN IT ALREADY IS!" Blossom's glare at me intensified and she started beating the pans together again, looking me right in the eyes as I did it. I was about to scream, but I heard a pained groan from the other side of the door and a loud thump. I bit back my scream and knocked the pans from Blossom's hands. "Grow up, you're supposed to be the most mature." I pushed past her into Buttercup's room to see my hungover friend sprawled on the floor, clutching at her ears and trying to cover her eyes at the same time. I kneeled down beside her and gently stoked her hair until she relaxed a little more and uncovered her ears.

"Buttercup get back in bed, I'll bring you water and aspirin. I'll try to control Blossom, she's being a MAJOR bitch right now and for some reason wants to make your life miserable." She peeked open a green eye and promptly squeezed it shut once she saw the light. I helped her back to bed and went downstairs to get her something to eat along with her hangover treatment.

I walked down the stairs and threw a bagel in the toaster and looked around for the aspirin. The toaster popped up as I found it and I put cream cheese and butter on the bagel. I filled a cup of water and put it all on a tray to bring up to her room.

As I was walking up the stairs, Blossom got in my way. "Why do you like her? She's absolutely insane and does a bunch of crazy stuff that puts both of you in danger!" My calm mood flew out the window and was replaced by an angry one.

"You know what Bloss, your sister has a heart of gold! She might be a little rough around the edges, but she's one of the most reliable and funniest friends I have ever had. Honestly, you're such a bitch for treating her like this because she cares SO much about you and Bubbles. You know she only got as drunk as she did because you guys got in a fight and she was really upset about it! She would probably be crushed if she knew you thought this of her!" She looked regretful for a moment, but the hard look she had before returned.

"She beat me up yesterday because I turned off the TV and wouldn't turn it back on! If she had her powers she would've killed me!" I looked over her and didn't see a single mark on her.

"You don't look like you got beat up." She rolled her eyes like the know it all she was.

"Chemical X heals it! Everyone knows that!" I rolled my eyes he same as she did.

"Then what's the issue? She didn't actually hurt you, nothing's broken, nothing's ruined, so what's the FUCKING ISSUE?!" She looked at me in shock, but the same stubborn look on her face once again made an appearance.

"It's the principle! Her temper is a huge issue and she should never even think of hurting me! I'm her sister!" Yup I had her right where I wanted her.

"So you hurting your sister is ok? Kinda hypocritical, don't you think?" Her eyes widened a little and she put her hand to her mouth.

"Oh my God, I didn't mean to- she apologized! I'm a terrible sister!" I only nodded to confirm her statement.

"Umm, yeah, that's what I've been telling you for the last ten minutes. Now, I have to take care of your sister since all you seem to want to do is make her day hell." I pushed past Blossom and threw in some toaster waffles and got her water and aspirin. I put butter and syrup on the waffles and walked them up to her room.

"Hey Buttercup, I got you something." She looked up at me, her face pale, her vibrant green eyes looked grateful, but I could see how much pain she was in.

"Thanks Kit." Her voice was a small whimper, the quietest I had ever seen her. Her eyes suddenly widened and her head snapped around to face me. "Kit, can you grab the red paper on my dresser? Make sure you don't look at it or I'm gonna get in HUGE trouble." I found her request a little strange, but I brought the letter to her anyways.

"Um, here. Why couldn't I look at it?" She sat up and took the letter and read it, her eyes widening in horror as she read it.

"No, no, no, I can't do this… fuck." She was mumbling under her breath, but I had still heard it and was immediately concerned.

"Buttercup?" She didn't even pay me any attention as she started to hyperventilate.

"I can't do this, I can't do this…" I got up and ran out to get Blossom and Bubbles, maybe they could help.

"Blossom! Bubbles!" They both ran to where I was looking concerned.

"What happened?" They spoke in unison and I pointed to Buttercup's room.

"She told me to get a red note off her desk and not to read it, so I did, but when she read it she started to hyperventilate and I don't know what to do!" They looked both confused and concerned.

"We don't know about any red notes…" Bubbles sounded completely lost, but I knew they had to be able to come up with something. Blossom looked deep in thought and a look of realization flashed onto her face.

"She said she didn't want to do any of the crazy stuff she had been doing lately. That means someone has to be communicating with her somehow to tell her what to do. Maybe those letters tell her what she has to do for the day… I have no clue why she would do all of this though, they have to be holding something over her and it has to be more serious than some kind of secret." I thought this over and realized how much sense that made.

"Oh my God you're probably right! I wonder what she has to do that would make her react like that…" I gave her two sisters a look and we all made our ways up to her room, only to find her sitting on her bed with her head in her hands.

Buttercup's POV

I read over the letter and all effects of my hangover were completely forgotten at what the letter said.

"Dearest Buttercup, I saw how much you enjoyed drinking, so why not step it up a bit. They always said alcohol was a gateway drug, so why not keep the trend going. Your next challenge is to walk down the shadiest alley in Townsville, at 1 AM, and are any drug you're offered. If I'm lucky you might overdose and make my life easier and the Professor's life shorter. Have a good night, Buttercup."

I couldn't do that. I promised myself and the Professor that I would never do any drugs ever. I might lie every now and then, but I don't break honest promises! Not only that, I knew how many drug dealers hide back there and they are always so high, they have no idea who they're talking to, they just want a quick buck off their drugs. I knew I was going to end up trying at least five different types of street drugs. I started to hyperventilate as I thought about myself encouraging one of the very crimes I bust all the time.

Kit left the room as I started to panic, probably to get my sisters. I took that time to put the paper in a box with all the other challenges, they couldn't see these. I sat back on my bed and put my head in my hands, desperately searching for loopholes in the challenge, but I could find none.

I heard Kit walk in with my two sisters, but I didn't bother to look up, I couldn't look them in the eyes with what I was going to do later tonight.

"Buttercup?" Bubbles was the first to talk in a meek voice that only she could use.

"Hey Bubbles. Did you need something?" Hopefully they wouldn't ask about anything.

"Buttercup, cut the crap! Kit said you were hyperventilating earlier, what happened?" Shit, Blossom would be the one to ride my ass about this.

"So? What happened to you not caring? I thought you weren't even going to THINK about LOOKING at me until the Professor got home! You did say that didn't you Blossom? So what changed your fucking mind? The fact that I could get in trouble? The fact that you can make yourself look better when I fuck up? What is it with you, make up your mind!" I vented my frustrations and confusion at my older sister and glared straight into her bubblegum pink eyes that seemed to be filled with… guilt? I let my glare soften, but her look of guilt soon twisted into one of anger. My glare returned to meet hers.

"You know what? I don't care! You're absolutely insufferable and my life would be so much easier if you weren't even here! I can't believe I was about to apologize! Why couldn't you have turned out more like Bubbles and less like… you?!" Sure Blossom had said some awful things to me before, but what she had just said physically hurt my chest and my stomach and I held back the urge to cry. Not in front of Blossom, I wouldn't let her know she got to me.

"Well since I'm such bad company I'll head out, don't expect me back tonight, not that you would want me here anyways." I was proud of myself for keeping my voice even, but anyone who knew me well enough would be able to tell how hurt I actually was from her comment. I got up and pushed past Bubbles, who was standing in the doorway, everyone too shocked to even try to stop me. I grabbed my wallet off of the dinner table, fully intent on staying in a hotel and a change of clothes from the dryer. I walked out to my car and jumped in, not wasting any time to start the car and go.

I sped off to the city and parked in front of a decent hotel. Instead of walking in immediately, I sat in my car and slammed my forehead onto my steering wheel, trying my hardest to find my composure and not cry from the harsh words that my sister had just used with me. She hated me. She wouldn't care if I died. Maybe I should just grant her fucking wish and trade myself for the professor now. I only knew Kit for a week really, Bubbles would get over it soon enough, and the professor had his two PERFECT girls. I put my car back into gear and started to drive to HIM's lair, I was so fucking done with this shit and if most of Townsville, including my older sister, wanted me dead, then I might as well make everyone happy and save the professor at the same time.

Professor's POV

After getting my time to get up and walk around, HIM put me back in the same chair he always kept me in and showed me a copy of the challenge he sent her. I read it over and I felt a bolt of fear run all through my body. I've heard stories from her about how many drugs they sell in those alleys. She promised to never do drugs and now she had to do just about all of them in one night just to keep me from getting killed.

"HIM, why are you doing this to her?" His cocky grin twisted into an angry glare and his demonic voice came out.

"That little girl has beaten me up one too many times and sent me to the dentist more than five times! Now she will feel the pain that I felt every time she beat me up! Out of all the girls, she was by far the most brutal and I want her DEAD! If not dead, I want her life to be ruined to the point that she kills herself!" I felt my heart drop at the thought of Buttercup, of all people, wanting to give up and die. I thought about how improbable that was and met his sneer with a glare of my own.

"If you want someone to give up, Buttercup was the wrong choice. She would nev-" I was cut off by the sound of a door opening and closing. I looked over to the door in shock to see my middle daughter standing in the doorway. She looked directly at me and I could see utter heartbreak shining in her eyes and had to wonder what happened, her heart wasn't an easy one to break.

"Go home dad, my car's in front of his lair, you know how to drive it." My eyes widened at her implication and I couldn't let that happen.

"No, Buttercup, don't do this. I won't allow you to. I won't get mad at you, just finish the challenges, I know you can do it. Even as a human, you're the toughest person I know. I love you too much to let you do this." She looked down and her bangs covered her eyes.

"Too bad nobody else does. You have Bubbles and Blossom still, you'll get over it eventually. You won't have to deal with my behavior and Townsville would be overjoyed, I fail to see the issue with my decision." Something had happened and I knew it.

"Since when did you care about what Townsville thought of you?" I flinched when she looked up, her eyes held unshed tears, something I had never seen before.

"I started caring when Blossom agreed with them. She hates me dad, she said her life would be so much easier if I wasn't in it, so why try to live if so much good would come out of me dying? Just go and forget about me, your life would be easier without me too, so just go!" At this point, tears were streaming down her pretty face, a look foreign on her.

"If you do this, I'll kill myself. Finish the challenge, we can both live and we can straighten this whole mess out. It'll be ok sweetie, I promise." She sent me a broken glare and yelled at me, something I expected.

"Why?! Everything's NOT ok! It never will be! Why can't you just let me do this?" I looked at my daughter and my heart broke seeing her like this.

"Finish the challenge." With a final glare and a few more tears, she turned around and walked back out, only throwing one word over her shoulder.

"Fine."

HIM gave me a sadistic look. "What was that you were saying before?" I shot a nasty glare at him that would make Buttercup proud.

Blossom's POV

I thought about apologizing to her and I almost did, but what she said to me acted as a reminder of how rude she can be, another reason to hate her. I didn't care that she left, actually I did, but I only cared because I was happy to see her go. I couldn't believe I was able to put up with her for as long as I did. I looked at the faces of Kitty and Bubbles, both too shocked to stop her from pushing past them.

It was the sound of her car that snapped them out of whatever daze they were in, and almost immediately, they both sent me a glare.

"What the actual FUCK?! What happened to apologizing to her? The girl doesn't know what to do with herself and you go and say some shit like that! I'm going to try and find her." Kit walked out the door and left me alone with Bubbles.

"Blossom?"

"Yes Bubbles?"

"You didn't mean what you said to Buttercup, did you?"

"I meant every word Bubbles."

"She's our sis-"

"Well I wish she wasn't."

"How could you say something like that…?"

"Bubbles, she's insane. She has temperamental issues. She's violent. She doesn't listen to reason. She's secretive. She overdoes everything. She's an attention whore. What is there to LIKE?" Bubbles looked like she was about to cry.

"She's loyal, she's brave, she's understanding when you need her to be, she's protective, she's funny, she's selfless, and most of all, she would NEVER say she hated one of us because she HATES seeing us hurt." I thought about it for a while, but I refused to swallow my pride, she was tough, she could handle it.

Buttercup's POV

I pulled up to cheap motel, this was possibly an all time low for me, but I needed all the money I could get for tonight. I wasn't about to do drugs and steal them in the same night, but honestly at this point, I didn't have THAT much to lose. I got a room and gave the guy a little extra to not tell that I was there.

I went into my room and though it was not the nicest place ever, it didn't have any bed bugs, which was a HUGE relief. I changed into the clothes I had hastily brought from home and almost groaned at what I was wearing. The mirror reflected a girl who I hardly recognized: Long black hair that was messy and falling in my face, tearstained freckled cheeks, bright green eyes that didn't look as bright as they always were, a black t-shirt that revealed a tan shoulder, light ripped denim jeans that looked painted on, and a pair of black skating shoes. I immediately wiped at my face, disposing of the evidence that I had been crying, I fixed my hair so that it looked normal, but I couldn't genuinely smile for the life of me, so I replaced the sad look with an angry one, I did it all the time, nobody ever found out before.

The day had passed by quickly considering I woke up past noon and I wasn't ready for this. I thought of just not doing it, but I reminded myself of the professor's predicament and told myself I would do anything for him.

It was 9:30 when the least drug dealers were out and I just hoped that the trend stayed the same since I last went on patrol. I decided against driving my car since I didn't want it to get messed up if there happened to be some kind of dispute. I walked down the dark streets, my head down as to not draw too much attention. The streetlights flickered above me as I neared my destination: Sangria Avenue, the shadiest alley in all of Townsville. I took a shaky breath and walked into the darkness of the alley.

?'s POV

Since quitting evil, I had nothing to do so I turned to drugs. I know, not the most healthy pastime, but honestly, it was all I had. My dealer came out at 10 so I had about half an hour until I could get my fix.

Buttercup's POV

I was only ten steps into the alley when I got the first offer.

"Hey girl, wanna blaze? Since you're so pretty I'll let you hit off of mine." I wanted so bad to refuse and knock this dude out of the country, but I remembered my challenge and took two short drags of it, hoping he wouldn't ask me to stay, but he did.

"Hey, puff puff pass until the blunt's all gone." I grimaced, but had to stay for the professor.

I smoked as little as possible, but even then, I felt myself start to get giggly and almost like I was floating. After the blunt was finished, I continued to walk down the alley, giggling lightly when I was offered something else within seconds of leaving the pot guy. Wait. I was made in a pot! I started giggling uncontrollably.

"Hey! You! I got some top of the line cocaine, but for a little kiss I'll give it to you for only ten dollars." In my high state of mind, I had no problem with kissing the guy for a discount, especially since ten dollars was pretty expensive for me. I leaned up and planted a light kiss on his lips, but he wasn't going to settle for that. He pulled me in closer and kissed me harder, making sure to cop a feel or two while he could. Had I been in my right state of mind, I would've knocked the dude out, but right now, I just didn't care about anything.

He pulled away after a few minutes of violation my mouth and handed me a small bag of white powder and I handed him the money.

"Here babe, all you gotta do is pour it into lines and snort it." He pulled out a large piece of broken glass and helped me pour the powder into lines so I could get even higher than I already was.

"Now just use one side of your nose to snort each line, one at a time." I did as he told me and with each line, I felt more and more elated, forgetting all the problems I had before this. The dealer smacked my ass on my way further down the alley, but in my drug induced state, all I could do was laugh. In the darkest part of the alley, the middle, a shady guy came up behind me and grabbed my hips and leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"Hey baby wanna shoot up? I got plenty to go around and I won't mind sharing for a kiss and twenty bucks." I nodded my head rapidly and he spun me around to press his lips against mine, having no shame in feeling my whole body. His kiss became greedy and he pulled away and held his hand out for the money, which I gave him. He leaned back in and stuck his tongue in my mouth while squeezing my ass hard. After what felt like forever, he pulled away and held up a syringe. He grabbed my right arm and injected it into the middle of my arm. Immediately I felt a rush that I never wanted to leave. The dealer pulled me in for another kiss and winked as he pulled away.

"There ya go sweetheart, come back anytime." I continued to walk down the alley and was stopped by a really creepy looking dude.

"Hey, try this. No charge, no needles, no snorting, just a pill." I took the pill without a second thought and dry swallowed it, not even asking what it was. I looked back up at the guy and in his place I saw HIM. I felt my anger overcome my senses and yelled at him.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BRING MY DAD INTO THIS?! YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" I charged at the crossdressing demon and held him up to the wall by his neck, my hand an ounce of pressure from crushing his larynx. I watched in horror as HIM slowly transformed into Blossom and I quickly let go.

"Oh my god, Bloss I'm so so sorry!" She glared at me and pushed me to the ground.

"This is why I hate you so much. You're out of control, you're crazy!" I got up and ran further down the alley in a panic. I flailed around violently as I was grabbed and snatched further into the alley. I saw the professor giving me a concerned look.

"Hey sunshine, maybe this will help. I got all kinds but with how you are now, I'll just inject you with it. It'll only be five dollars since you're a newbie and you seem high enough already. I'll just take it from your wallet. I felt a needle go into my arm and I felt a heavenly rush that was very welcome with all the anxiety I was just facing.

"Ok that dude that gave you that pill is a creep. He gave you LSD, I gave you meth. Hey, you okay sunshine?" I started to feel myself flail unintentionally and my vision started to go black. The euphoric feeling I had before replaced with a pain in my chest and I could hear the Professor running away as I completely lost consciousness.

?'s POV

"Fuck man, I think she's dead!"

"No way! I just gave her some of my drugs like 10 minutes ago! Check her pulse!"

"..."

"..."

"I don't feel anything dude! How many people did she get drugs from?"

"I gave her pot."

"I gave her coke"

"I gave her heroine"

"I gave her LSD and I saw someone run who gave her meth."

"Shit, maybe she is dead."

I walked up as I heard my dealer. "Someone died?" My heroine dealer looked up at me and gave me a sad look.

"I think so… she was a looker too…" I pushed through the dealers to see a girl with unmistakable resemblance to my counterpart. I froze in shock that she would even be here in the first place much less doing drugs. I felt slight panic wash over me and kneeled down next to her still form. We weren't best friends, but we had hung out a few times and she really was a great girl. I used my super hearing to listen for a pulse, holding my breath so I wouldn't hear anything else.

I let out a loud sigh of relief when I heard a faint, very faint, heartbeat that wouldn't last for long, she always was the fighter. I cracked a grin at the thought and picked her up, flying as fast as I could to a hospital. I busted through the doors and demanded a doctor immediately, the limp body in my arms alerting people that this wasn't a joke.

Almost immediately after my entrance, a few nurses came out with a hospital bed, a doctor with them to help her as soon as possible. My eyes followed her until the doors to the ICU closed behind her. I might have hated her once upon a time, but I couldn't help but hope that she would be okay, I would hate to see such a tough girl go out like this.

Kit's POV

I couldn't find her anywhere. I looked all over Townsville and I found no sign of her. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was in trouble and I started to cry, knowing I couldn't be there for her. I sat in Bubbles's car in front of the Utonium household, trying to find a way to tell them that I couldn't find their sister in all of Townsville.

I got out of the car and slowly walked into the house, receiving a hopeful glance from bubbles and an expectant one from Blossom.

"Kitty, did you find her? Is she okay?" I looked down to the side and shook my head.

"I'm sorry. I looked all around Townsville? But I couldn't find her anywhere…" Bubbles's hopeful look dropped into one of deep concern, Blossom's stayed in a constant expression of indifference that made my blood boil, her little sister could be dead somewhere!

"You could at least act worried Blossom! Your sister could be lying dead in a fucking trash bag and the last thing you ever said to her would be absolutely heartbreaking! Don't you care if she's dead?" Her expression remained unchanging.

"No, I don't care. In fact, I hope she is, less stress in my life." I felt myself go into a rage and punched Blossom square in the jaw, barely doing any damage, but definitely giving her the shock of a lifetime. I was about to say something, but I was stopped by a knock on the door. Blossom strutted past me and opened the door, only to reel back in shock at a guy who looked like he could be Buttercup's twin brother.

"Butch, what are you doing here?" His face looked grim and Bubbles came up behind me and clutched my shoulder. The guy identified as Butch shook his head slowly and looked up with sad eyes.

"You might want to get to the hospital." All of us froze, even Blossom. "Like, fast." He left behind a dark green streak as he flew to what I assumed was the hospital, snapping us all out of our short bout of paralysis.

"Maybe we should go…" Bubbles spoke with a shaky voice, sounding scared and unsure.

"It could be a trap." Blossom went right for the negative.

"It could be Buttercup." I tried to reason with her, but I should've known it wouldn't work.

"If it is then that's more of a reason not to go." I growled lightly and turned to Bubbles.

"If she won't go, I think we should. I have a bad feeling that your sister is the reason he came here." Bubbles nodded and grabbed my arms before flying through the door and to the hospital. We arrived to see Butch pacing in the lobby, a worried look of his face. I tugged on Bubbles's arm and walked her over to Butch.

"So what's going on?" He looked at me and Bubbles then looked down.

"You want the long story or the short story."

"Whichever you think will give us the best idea of the situation." He looked back up.

"Ok, here's the long story: So after quitting evil, I had nothing to do, everyone hated me and I had no way to get a rush the way I did when I fought Buttercup, she had one hell of a left hook I'll tell you! Anyways, since I was feeling down all the time, I thought maybe a high could help me out, so I turned to drugs, heroine to be exact. I'm not exactly proud of it, but it ties into how I found her. So I was going for my 10 o'clock fix, but this time it was different, as soon as I walked up to Sangria Avenue, I heard all the dealers talking, they were out early for the night. As I got closer, I could hear them talking about someone being dead." Bubbles and I froze and tended up and Butch paused for a while. "I heard them talking about how many drugs some girl took that night and like four dealers said she took a hit from them, one saying another guy hooked her up and ran when she started to react badly. Apparently the girl had marijuana, cocaine, heroine, LSD, and meth. She would've been fine if she didn't take all five in a thirty minute span of time, but as a human, her body can't take it and it probably started to shut down. They said they couldn't find a pulse and after hearing what they said, I'd be surprised if they did. I walked up and asked what was going on and they said a girl was dead. I wanted to make sure what they said was true, but when I looked at the girl, I realized it was Buttercup! I was honestly shocked, I never thought I would catch any of you puffs turning to drugs, but I didn't really care about that. I've spent time with your sister and she really is a great person, funny, forgiving, which was surprising considering her violent tendencies, and she's absolutely gorgeous, all of you girls are. Anyways, I couldn't just let her go like that, so I used my super hearing to listen for a heartbeat, and even with my enhanced senses, I still barely heard one, but it was enough. I picked her up and flew her to the hospital and after I saw them take her back, I flew to tell you guys, then you guys came here and asked me to tell you what happened and I told you and present." I was crying along with Bubbles, she fucking overdosed on drugs. She didn't do drugs, ever. She told me she made a promise never to do drugs, but what changed her mind?

"Do you think she's gonna make it?" He looked up at Bubbles and gave her a sad look.

"It's not likely, but if anyone can pull through, it's your sister. Where's your other sister by the way?" My tears stopped and I felt my temper flare.

"Blossom is mad at Buttercup about something and wants her dead, fucking told the poor girl that too." Butch's face twisted and he spoke angrily.

"Fucking bitch. My brothers and I were evil and we NEVER said anything like that to each other! How can she call herself a sister when she talks to her's like an enemy?" Bubbles and I shrugged having the same thoughts. We were about to speak, but just then the doctor came out, an unreadable look on his face.

"So what's the verdict doc?" Butch was the only one who could find the will to speak.

"We did all we could and right now it could go either way. Her pulse is weak and she heavily overdosed. Not only will she be extremely weak if she wakes up, but she will also be having withdraw symptoms of five highly addictive drugs." I looked to the doctor hopefully.

"Can we see her?" He gave us a sympathetic look and nodded, leading us to her room. I almost broke down on the spot when I saw her. She was paler than I had ever seen her, her heart monitor was barely beeping, yet at a steady pace, she was completely still, her face twisted into a pained grimace as if she was suffering while she was asleep. I walked up to her and pushed her bangs out of her face and behind her ear.

"Please be okay Buttercup. Bubbles and I can't lose you, you are a great sister to Bubbles and you're my best friend. Even Butch wants you to live! Your dad is on some business trip, but I know for a fact that he would take it horribly if you died like this, you promised him you wouldn't do drugs, remember? You told me that…" Bubbles stepped up beside me and touched her sister's freckled cheek.

"Buttercup, I love you, please don't go…" Bubbles was openly crying, tears streaming down her cheeks. She reached for Buttercup's hand and kept it warm in her own, Butch had the other one. Her heart monitor started to speed up and we all shot each other a look of worry, only for it to turn to relief when her heart monitor evened out again, only at a faster pace. We all started to laugh in relief as the toughest fighter entered a safe place, she was going to be ok.

We all have each other hugs and thought about calling Blossom.

"I'll call her crying and say that she died from an overdose, maybe she'll realize that she should make up with Buttercup since she almost lost her." I was surprised that Bubbles came up with such a devious plan. I simply smirked and nodded, Butch seemed to like the idea as well.

Bubbles pulled out her phone and started to cry on command as she called Blossom's number. She picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hey Bubbles, what do you need?"

"Bl-Bloss-om! Sh-she's d-dead! B-B-Butterc-up die-died!" Bubbles burst into a fit of believable sobs and I heard nothing on the other end for a while.

"No, she's not dead. She doesn't die, she's like, invincible!" Bubbles started to sob harder into the phone.

"Sh-she d-doesn't have h-her pow-ers rem-remember?" The line was silent again on the other side and Bubbles continued to 'cry'.

"No, she's not dead, you're lying. If she's actually dead, how did she die?"

"Sh-she o-o-over-" Bubbles cut herself off and started to fake sob again, so convincing that I had to wonder if it was actually real.

"She what? Spit it out Bubbles!"

"She overdosed! Butch S-said he f-ound her in S-Sangria Av-avenue… and the d-dealers s-aid that she took M-mari-marijuana, c-cocaine, h-h-heroine, LSD, a-and meth." We heard the sound of a phone dropping and about twenty seconds later, we heard Blossom's shaky voice from the other side of the phone.

"Y-you're joking right? P-please tell me this is a joke. Bubbles?" Bubbles only sobbed in return, not saying anything else.

"Oh my god, I'll be right there." The phone hung up and Bubbles cut the crying act and called in a doctor.

"Look, I know you shouldn't do this, but right now, we're having a big family issue and I need you to make it look like she's dead when my other sister comes in, I'll pay you extra, just please make it look like she's dead." The doctor gave her a weird look.

"Ma'am, that's against policy-"

"Please. We won't tell anyone. I'll do anything." The doctor looked dead in her large blue eyes, fatal mistake. He sighed in defeat.

"Ok I'll do it, no extra charge, but you can't tell anyone. I'll alert my coworkers to the situation so they don't try to electrocute her." He ran out and came back in only a minute later. He took off her heart monitor and wrapped the finger it was on with two band-aids so the machine couldn't find a pulse. The machine flatlined and Bubbles actually started crying at the thought of actually losing her sister, I did too.

The doctor walked out, and not even a minute later, Blossom burst through the door, her face falling at the sight of the monitor. We looked up at her with tearful faces, Bubbles putting on a sob show and even Butch made himself look sad.

"She's gone already, you know." Butch was the one to talk, his voice sounded dark and broken, he would be a great actor! She walked slowly and cautiously towards her younger sister and hesitantly touched her cold hand, the one Bubbles let go of a while ago, smart girl. Blossom looked up to her sister's unusually pale face and slightly blue lips and brushed her hand across her features, something she didn't react in the slightest to. To our surprise, Blossom let out a sob, a pained sob that was very real. I looked at Bubbles and I didn't know whether to smile or frown at the turn of events.

"Oh my god, Buttercup, I'm s-so sorry! I n-never hated you, I was just too s-stubborn to try and ap-apol-apologize!" She broke down and started to weep into her 'dead' sister's shoulder. "Oh god sis, I'm gonna miss you s-so much! You got on my n-nerves a lot but you were al-always there when I needed you. I wish I c-could say I was the same f-for you! Oh my god, Buttercup, you can't be d-dead! You're only 18!" Blossom hugged Buttercup tightly and cried hysterically into her shoulder. No matter how much I wanted to smile that the plan was working, I found the exchange absolutely heartbreaking. The doctor came in and raised an eyebrow at us and we signaled for him to play along.

"I'm sorry for your loss ma'am, but we have to take her now." Blossom looked up, tears covering her face.

"No! Don't take her! Please…" The doctor looked down and gave her a regretful look that deserved an oscar.

"I'm very sorry, but it's policy." She clung onto Buttercup for dear life.

"No, I'm not letting her go! Please don't take her from me…" Blossom was in absolute hysterics and Bubbles and I looked at each other, a little regretful of how we handled the situation. The doctor looked at her in actual sympathy at the fact that she didn't know her sister was actually very much alive.

"Ma'am, please, she's already gone… There's nothing left for you to keep, unless you don't want her to have any sort of funeral…" Blossom's face contorted in genuine pain at the word funeral, probably because that made it seem all the more real.

"Buttercup, I love you, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, I love you, I never hated you! Please come back, don't leave, I'm sorry!"

Blossom's POV

I watched in tears as my middle sister was taken from the room. How could I have let her go thinking I hated her, how could I have been so cruel. I wished so bad that I could see her mischievous smirk, her sparkling green eyes, her laugh, her snarl, anything about her that I said I hated, I wanted to see right now. I missed everything about her already and she would never know that.

"Blossom, we should go home now…" Kit spoke up in a very sad voice, which only made everything seem more real.

"Oh my god, what are we gonna tell dad? He's gonna be heartbroken!" I ignored Kit's statement and thought about our dad and how much he actually enjoyed Buttercup's company, she was always the fun one. Bubbles began to cry again and I pulled out my phone to call the Professor, how was I going to tell him?

"Blossom, what's going on?" I took a while to respond, but I finally bucked up the courage to respond. "Dad, Buttercup's d-d-" I couldn't find it in myself to say it.

"Blossom, is there something wrong with Buttercup? Is she okay?" I cringed at the concern in his voice.

"No, she's n-not okay. She's d-d-DEAD! Dad, Buttercup's dead!"

Professor's POV

"No, she's n-not okay. She's d-d-DEAD! Dad, Buttercup's dead!" Blossom erupted into sobs and I went into a state of denial, if she were dead, I would be too.

"Blossom, your sister isn't dead. That's impossible, I would know if she was dead." HIM gave me a warning glare as he monitored my call. He gave me a hard look that told me not to say anymore.

"Dad I'm in the hospital where she was and she flatlined, the doctors took her out! How is that not.. not… dead?" I looked up at him with a confused look in my eyes and he played the video of her challenge. I smiled as she tried to do as little as possible with the first guy, trying to leave before she was high, but he made her stay and after that, she had no problems with anything. I grit my teeth when the cocaine dealer made her kiss him for a discount and I felt my blood boil when he copped a feel on her while she wasn't in a position to stop him. She only got higher from there and the next guy was worse and the drug he gave her made my heart drop: heroine. He came up behind my black haired daughter and grabbed her hips, whispering something in her ear, but a few seconds later, he spun her around and pulled her into a kiss where he felt everywhere with no shame. I wanted to break the TV screen! HIM was making her sink to these levels and I felt awful that I was the reason behind it.

Between forceful kisses, Buttercup slipped him a twenty and he injected something in her arm. He pulled her into one last unwarranted kiss and grabbed her butt which made me thrash in my chair. Not even five more steps down the alley, a creepy looking guy gave her a pill for no charge and I soon realized why. As soon as she took it, she started screaming at the guy as if he was HIM, but after she attacked him, backed off and apologized, calling him Blossom. He must've given her LSD. After he pushed her down, she got up and ran further than the alley, getting pulled to the side by a dirty looking guy who forcefully injected her with meth and took five dollars from her wallet, not that she could have refused anyways. I watched in horror as she started to have a seizure and the dealer ran away, not wanting to be caught with a dead body.

I watched in horror and disbelief as she slowly became still and unconscious.

The other dealers around her thought she was dead, but she couldn't be! I watched in hope as Butch walked up and flew her to the hospital after confirming she was alive. HIM cut off the TV and shot me a nasty look.

"You're right, she's not dead, Bubbles and Buttercup's new friend faked her death so Blossom would realize how awful she was being and they could make up." I sighed in relief and looked at my phone to call Blossom back, only for HIM to snatch my phone away.

"She's not going to make it through all of these challenges Professor, she barely made it through 7! You should've just let her take the fall when she had the chance because her life is about to go straight to hell! Her reputation will be ruined, her hero title will be ruined, everything that she holds close will be taken from her. By letting her live, you're really hurting her Professor." I looked down at my feet, did I really get her into this mess?

Buttercup's POV

I woke up in a room by myself, head pounding, feeling extremely nauseous. I laid back down in the bed and realized I wasn't at home and I wasn't at that crappy motel I planned on staying at. I jolted up and looked around frantically to notice I was in a hospital… and nobody was here. I sighed and closed my eyes, flopping back on my bed. I ripped off the heart monitor and tore off the band-aids on my finger. I pulled the IV out of my arm, I didn't need this shit! I got up and promptly threw up in the trash can. I thought I would feel better if I threw up, but I only felt worse, but this time it came with cold sweats, something I never had before.

I stood up and stumbled out of the room I was in, only to run right into Blossom and fall down. I groaned as I hit the ground and didn't bother to get up.

"B-Buttercup? Is that you?" I looked up to look Blossom in the eyes, surprised she sounded happy to see me.

"Umm, yeah. Did you come here to see someone else of something…?" I hoped that she had come for me, I really couldn't take her hating me.

"No, I came here for you, I just thought you were dead… oh my god, you're alive!" She pulled me up into a hug and started crying into my shoulder. I hugged her back and she squeezed tighter.

"Buttercup, I'm so so sorry! I don't hate you! I was so scared that I let you leave thinking that, I love you so much, I'm sorry for acting like I didn't…" I hugged my older sister tighter and pressed her head into my shoulder, letting her know it was ok to cry.

"I love you too Bloss." She only cried harder and I stood there just hugging her. I saw Kit, Bubbles, and… Butch? They were standing in my line of view and gave me a thumbs up. Those sneaky little shits planned this! I gave them a wink and a grateful smile. Maybe everything would turn out fine, after I got over this awful headache…

AN: Sorry this took so long! I'll try to be quicker with the next update, hope this was enough drama to hold you over until then… please review, any constructive criticism is welcome :)


	9. Challenge 8

AN: Be prepared for another intense chapter, I'm not going to waste time with a drawn out AN, but be prepared for another OC by Author Candidate- James Scott.

Chapter 8: Challenge 8

Buttercup's POV

So I got out of the hospital, but not without a good ol' ticket to the rehabilitation center, apparently a girl can't casually experiment with dangerous and highly addictive street drugs in peace. I fell behind my sisters to talk alone with my unlikely savior, Butch.

"Hey, why'd you save me? Not that I'm complaining, but I just didn't expect you to ever play hero." He grabbed my wrist and covered my mouth abruptly and pulled me into an empty alley. He let go of me and signaled for me to be quiet.

"Before you blow up at me, I know what's going on. I'm related to HIM, remember?" I felt relief rush over me and I flung my arms around his well built waist.

"Thank god, thank you so much! But he's ruining my life Butch!" He wrapped his arms around me for comfort and buried his nose in my hair.

"I know, and I'm sorry… I know you're doing this for your dad, but trust me when I say that the easiest path is just to complete the challenges. Even if you sacrifice yourself for him, HIM will just wreak havoc since you'd be out of the way." I hugged him tighter and surprisingly he placed a comforting kiss in my hair. "It'll be okay, I promise. I'll do what I can to help you… I'll even go to rehab with you, I should probably get off heroin myself…" I looked up to find a kind look that looked so foreign in my former enemy's forest green eyes.

"Thank you, Butch. We should probably get back to the rest." He nodded in agreement and we stealthily slipped back behind the group. We ended up at the motel where I parked my car and I paid what I owed, and everyone piled into the car. I drove home with Butch in the passenger seat, raving over how much he LOVED my car, I only smirked and drove the car back to the house.

When we pulled into the garage, everyone hopped out and went into the house, flopping on the couch in exhaustion except for Butch and me, who ran up to my room to find the next challenge. Nobody really batted an eye since they were all so tired they didn't notice, I would be surprised if they were still awake. I walked to my dresser and picked up a red letter, a letter that had more writing on it than usual.

"Dear Buttercup, it seems that it's a little hard to get people to hate you and it is also proving quite difficult to KILL you. It seems I'll have to go to more extreme measures to knock you off, so here's your challenge for today. I'll be in disguise as an escape artist today and I'm coming to Townsville to offer an attempt at an escape from a water chamber. Don't worry about any glass breaking, the walls will be bulletproof, you WILL die today, after all, who can save you from an unescapable bulletproof chamber that is rapidly filling with water? Maybe Butch or your sisters can, but if they try, your DEAR father is as good as DEAD! I always remembered how much you hated the idea of drowning. I sure hope you have gotten smarter than you always have been or this just might be the end of both Buttercup and Professor Utonium, wouldn't that just be a TRAGEDY? Anyways, I thought you would like to know that Townsville News knows all about your little drug problem, have fun with the press. (PS to Butch, don't think I'll just let your betrayal go unpunished…)"

I looked up to my counterpart, concern obvious in my eyes and his. "Shit Butch, we're gonna die! Now he's after you too!" He brought a large hand up to cup my cheek in a comforting fashion.

"It'll be ok cupcake, I can take care of myself and I know you can find a way outta that box. I'll keep your sisters from helping and we'll be fine, I swear." I leaned into his hand and gripped his strong arm as if it was a life line.

"You're right. A little water and a little treat can't take down the greens that easily!" He looked me in the eyes and smirked a smirk that only we could pull off.

"Atta girl Cupcake! I'll see you in Town Square at three PM." I nodded pulled me into a quick embrace before flying from my window. I smiled after him and walked downstairs to see my sisters and Kit asleep on top of eachother. I smiled down at them and put a fluffy blanket across the three.

I walked upstairs and got dressed in a pair of lounge clothes: A dark green football Jersey and a pair of yoga shorts, which were barely visible due to the size of the jersey. I was about to make breakfast, but the doorbell rang. I took my time getting to the door, but felt my anger rise as the doorbell rang again. I opened the door with a glare and was genuinely surprised to be met with an emerald glare from an unfamiliar person.

"Just who the hell are y-" The man at the doorstep was only about an inch taller than me, but he was built and the muscle wasn't just for show. He grabbed me harshly by my neck and pulled me from the doorway, slamming the door closed. Promptly after the door shut, I felt my head crack painfully against the red door. I held in a groan of pain and managed to kick the guy hard in the gut even though I couldn't breathe. My kick seemed to do the trick since he released me and stumbled back a little.

"What the fuck did I do to you asshole?!" I was breathing heavily, trying to catch my breath and stood in a fighting stance, prepared for anything.

"You're putting my girlfriend in danger! I'm not gonna let you do that, bitch!" I dropped my guard for a second in the confusion I felt from his accusation, but that gave him an opening to grab the back of my head and smash my face into the handrail, splitting my forehead. He backed off thinking I was down, but I threw a surprise of my own and caught his jaw with a mean left hook, making a snapping sound and he shouted from the pain. While he was nursing his jaw, I sent another hard punch to his eye, which made him kneel over, where I finished with a knee to the chin, he was lucky it wasn't the nose.

My sisters and Kit flung the door open, probably hearing the commotion and they all gasped loudly, Kit's the loudest. I looked over to the three looking absolutely pissed and probably scary from the gash on my forehead.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Blossom was the first to come to her senses and ask what the hell had just happened.

"This son of a bitch tried to kill me as soon as I opened the fucking door!" I kicked him in the ribs hard as I gave my explanation, earning a pitiful grunt from the psycho who attacked me on my doorstep.

"Bradley?" My head snapped back to face Kit.

"You know this fucker?" She nodded nervously and kneeled down next to him.

"Bradley, are you ok?" She gently cupped his face and checked his face for anything broken.

"Yeah I'm doing great Kit, no need to worry about me at all, I was only the one who got attacked in the first place! Who the fuck even is this guy?" She sent me a glare that left me confused. What the hell did I do?

"He's Bradley Phoenix and you dislocated his jaw! He can't even close it. Why the hell did you do that?!" I stared at her in disbelief and frustration.

"Uh, were you listening AT ALL? I opened the fucking door and he grabbed me by my neck and tried to beat me up for 'putting his girlfriend in danger' or some shit like that! Like if I don't know who the fuck HE is, why would I know who the fuck his GIRLFRIEND is?!" She sent me a sharp glare and I sent her a nasty glare back, she was supposed to be on my side, not the guy who started it!

"I'M his girlfriend! He was just looking out for me, he just tends to be a bit overprotective, you didn't have to hurt him like that!" I all but snarled at my friends betrayal.

"You know, what the fuck ever Kit, go fuck your boyfriend and go live with him and have thirty fucking kids for all I care, but I'm not gonna sit here and let this son of a bitch try to hurt me and not do anything about it!" I didn't even wait for a response as I walked back in the house to patch up the gash that was leaking blood down my face.

I walked down the lab stairs and found the Professor's medical cabinet and managed to clean it without screaming, which was quite the feat since alcohol had to have been some kind of medieval torture device. I put some other stuff on it that stopped the bleeding and some little band aid like things that held it closed so it could heal easier. I turned to walk back upstairs only to find my sisters and Kit in the doorway of the lab, probably to help out the bastard that just couldn't keep his hands to himself, and not in the sexual way, the pre school way. I glared in the direction and pushed past them to go upstairs, I needed to vent.

I walked into the gym, which was only two doors down from the lab and started to punch hard at the punching bag, not bothering to stop for boxing gloves.

"How dare they all cater to him!" I rapidly threw punches at the bag to release the anger I had built up.

"How DARE he try to attack me in my own fucking home!" I pictured the punching bag as a short guy with emerald eyes and black hair, almost like a Walmart version of Butch with a worse attitude to go with it.

"How DARE she take his side just because he's her boyfriend! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO CHICKS BEFORE DICKS?!" I punched the bag harder if it was possible and the bag almost hit the ceiling.

"If I wanted to hurt her, I very well could've had her killed by now BUT SHES FUCKING FINE!" I began to brutally punch at the bag, splitting my knuckles, making my already roadburned hands look even worse. I started to leave bloodstains on the bag, but I didn't even care at this point.

This time I didn't even say anything, just let out a war scream and punched the bag as hard as I could, shooting a hole right through it, my hand submerged in sand which was stinging at my busted knuckles. I pulled my hand out and felt myself calm down as the sand poured out of the bag. I waited until all the sand was drained from the bag before tossing the carcass of the old punching bag and cleaning up the sand that had spilled onto the floor. I went to the storage closet to grab a fresh punching bag and hung it up for the next time someone, probably me, needed it.

I calmly walked out of the gym and washed the sand off of my hands, then ran right into the very girl I didn't want to see.

"I thought you left to live with your boyfriend." I spat coldly at my 'friend'. Friends don't betray each other like that. She shot me an angry look and walked up close to me.

"He was only being protective! You didn't have to mess up his face like that! You're stronger than him and it's not right that you beat him up like that!" I rolled my eyes and turned my back, shooting a glare over my shoulder.

"You forget that I'm a human too right now. If I didn't fight back, he was going for blood. He smashed my face into the fucking handrail!" I pointed to the no longer bleeding gash on my face. Her eyes suddenly started watering up and I groaned inwardly, not the waterworks again…

"I- I'm soo so sorry, can you forgive me? I just saw that h-his jaw was dislocated and it looked so b-bad…" tears started to stream down her face. My glare softened and I turned to face her, I really felt awful when I saw tears…

"No, no, don't cry Kit! You know I'm not good with crying. Umm… I forgive you, I'll make you breakfast and everything!" She started to cry harder and I wondered if I said the wrong thing. What do I do? On an impulse, I pulled her into a hug and let her cry into my shoulder, hoping it would help her stop, but I began to panic when she started to cry MORE!

"Shit, what'd I do? I'm trying, what can I do to make you stop crying?" I spoke in a soft panicked voice in her ear and she squeezed my ribs tighter and buried her head farther into my shoulder. I started to rub her back to calm her down and to my immense relief, her sobs began to settle down.

"I'm s-orry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so-" I cut off her rapid fire apology and pulled her away so she could look me in the eyes.

"Kit, I said I forgave you. You don't need to keep apologizing…" She smiled and jumped back into my arms, but this time, luckily not to cry. I looked over at the kitchen clock and I realized that I only had ten minutes before I had to leave for Town Square.

"You're a good friend, Buttercup." I gave her a quick squeeze to let her know I felt the same, but I needed to go.

"You too Kit, but I need to change to go to Town Square, I have something to do, you and my sisters should stay here." She gave me a nervous look, but eventually nodded. I ran upstairs and changed my tear soaked jersey to a light green v-neck t-shirt.

I ran downstairs and hopped in my car, pulling from the garage to drive to Town Square where Butch would be waiting for me. I parked my car in a parking garage and walked out nervously to see Butch waiting for me in front of a "traveling magician" that we both knew was HIM.

I walked over to Butch and sent the "magician" the nastiest glare I could make up.

"Buttercup, what happened?" He gently brushed his thumb across the hash on my face and gave me a worried look.

"Kit's overprotective boyfriend was a tad upset that she was hanging around me because apparently I'm a danger to her." He gave me a sympathetic look and eyes the water tank.

"Think you can get out?" I looked at the tank and then down to his feet.

"No, I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off if I can at all. I honestly think I'm gonna die today." His hand met my chin and tilted it up so I could face him.

"Don't think like that. I've never seen you fail at anything before so why start now? I believe in you cupcake." He offered a warm smile and I was happy to return it.

"Thanks Butch…" I gave him a quick hug and walked up to HIM. "So, what's the deal with this?" He gave me and evil looking smirk and glared into my eyes.

"You get in the chamber while it's empty, I'll lock you in, and you need to find a way out before you drown. But I'll have you know, that's very unlikely." I felt some sort of determination at his doubt in me.

"Bring it on." I practically growled at him and he flashed a devilish smirk.

"Gladly." HIM opened the top of the the chamber and put a ladder up to it. "Climb in." As I got to the top, I studied the opening. If I could get up here while it was closed, I might be able to get out. The hinges were weak enough to break with enough force. Many ideas started flashing through my head and I hopped in, shooting Butch a nervous glance through the glass. The top was four feet above my head.

I flinched as the top was slammed shut and locked with an industrial strength lock. An audience started to gather around as HIM started to speak, and to my dismay, the reporters flocked to the scene as well.

"Well it seems we have a volunteer to try to escape the Water Torture Cell! And what is your name dear?" I snarled at him and spit out a nasty reply.

"You know my fucking name." He feigned shock as I cursed at him.

"Well then. I guess the name isn't that important. Good luck escaping, the tank will be full in five minutes. Good luck." With the look he gave me I knew he wasn't actually wishing me luck.

I was snapped back to reality as ice cold water splashed over my feet. "Fuck." I hastily took off my shoes and socks, I LOATHE the feeling of wet socks. "Why the fuck did I wear socks?" I scolded myself for the dumb decision, but quickly got over it and pulled the shoelaces off of my running shoes, I might need them soon. I became more aware of the freezing water as it reached my stomach, I had to think fast. My shirt started to cling to my skin and without even thinking I pulled off my shirt and bunched it up, not caring since I wore a sports bra. An idea flashed through my head and I tied my two shoelaces together to make a long string, then wrapped and tied it around my wet shirt. The water was up to my neck and I knew what I was going to do. If that failed, I was done. As the water continued to rise, I took a deep breath and let it flow over my head. Most onlookers gasped in fear and anticipation of what I was doing. When the water got closer to the top I used my shirt to plug the pipe that was pumping the water. I held the other end of the shoelaces and swam to the top, holding myself there by planting my feet on either side of the glass chamber, holding my head above the water, gasping for air. I inched my way up to the top and pushed hard at the hinges, trying to break them off. My arms started to get tired, but the hinges were starting to give way. Thinking quick, I grabbed one of my shoes that were floating nearby and wedged it in between the two hinges. I edged the shoe close to one of the hinges and began to push at it again. It started to creak from the force, but as soon as I started to get my hopes up, the water level started to rise again but at a slower pace. Apparently my shirt wasn't the best water block. I started to panic and pushed harder on the hinges, only for my wet hand to slip over a sharp part of the hinge that had broken.

"Fuck!" My hand was bleeding heavily and started to run down my arm. I figured since my hand was already fucked up, more damage couldn't hurt. I drew back my bleeding left hand and punched the broken part of the hinge, succeeding in destroying it, but also managing to get a deep cup along my hand. I grabbed the other shoe and wedged it on top if the other one, causing the other hinge to give a little. I was about to start on breaking that one, but something snapped me out of my focus.

"Buttercup, what are you doing?!" My head snapped around to see my sisters along with Kit and her asshole of a boyfriend. The sudden movement was all it took for my feet to slip and for me to fall back under water. I started to panic since I never caught my breath and struggled to surface with the inch of empty space left in the cell. I grabbed at the place where the broken hinge used to be to get my face above the water to catch my breath, but slipped again when I pulled my left hand back from the burning pain that shot through it. I slipped under again and struggled to the top, where I only had a few seconds to catch my breath before it filled up completely. I pulled the shoelace and the water started to pour from the small hole where the hinge was broken, giving me a small place to breathe. I got a good breath and swam to the other hinge, wrapping the shoelace around it. I held it with my right hand and pushed down on it with my foot, which worked for a while until the shoelace snapped. I cursed inwardly and swam over to my breathing spot. The water was starting to turn red from my hand and it was getting difficult to see, so I stuck my hands in the small area that allowed the water to escape and held my breath, hoping the pressure of the water would be enough to break the already weakened hinge.

I heard the metal creaking from the water pressure, but my breath was running out faster than the top was breaking. I waited until I was in dire need of air to remove my hands from the small gap, allowing enough water to flow out for me to get a quick breath in before continuing to push on the top to no avail. I looked down to see the steel water pump which looked very breakable and also very handy. I made a split second decision and took a breath before diving down to break off the metal pump. It wasn't hard to get the metal off, and after I did, I let myself float back to the top and realized that finding a grip was a struggle. I managed to lodge my right hand into the gap and pull myself up to position my feet on the walls again. Once I was steady, I removed my hand from the gap and began to pick at the remaining part of the hinge with the jagged piece of metal.

I began to get impatient with how long it was taking and slammed the metal HARD into only thing that kept my in this water chamber. I started to struggle to hold my breath, but I was so close to breaking it. I pounded multiple times with the metal and right when I thought I was going to breathe in water, the hinge broke and I forced the door up enough so I could get a good breath in. I took my time breathing and slid out from the gap between the top and the chamber, earning many cheers and gasps from the audience. I looked around and realized the ladder was gone.

"Um, can you get that ladder back up here, I really don't feel like jumping from like ten feet up." HIM snarled at me in irritation and reluctantly set up the ladder on my side of the water filled box. I carefully stepped down the ladder and was almost immediately tackled into a hug from Butch and my sisters.

"I knew you could do it cupcake!"

"Oh my god you scared me!"

"Don't ever do something that stupid again!" I smiled and returned the hugs but made no promises. I looked over to see Kit being held back by her boyfriend.

"Hey, she's a big girl who can make her own decisions. Let her go asshole." He glared at me and tried to pull Kit away, but she broke free.

"Bradley, she's done nothing to hurt me and every time I was in any danger she protected me! Plus, she's right, I'm not a little kid who needs to be watched over!" He pulled her into his chest protectively.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you baby." I walked up to them and gave Kit a hug, making sure to wipe my bloody hand off on Bradley's shirt, something he wasn't too happy about.

"I would NEVER hurt you Kit." I sent Bradley a glare, which he returned as I got 'too close to his girl'.

"I'm so glad you're ok… how's your hand?" I pulled back and showed her my hand that was still bleeding pretty heavily, causing her to cringe at the sight. I was about to tell her something, but as soon as I opened my mouth, the reporters came over and started interrogating me.

"How did you get out?"

"Did you have a plan before?"

"How did you cut your hand?"

"How do you feel about completing a seemingly impossible task?"

"Why did you want to do that?"

"Did you win anything."

"Are you and Butch a thing?"

I cut off all the questions with a view of my left hand. "As much as I would LOVE to answer all of your INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT questions, I feel like my first priority is to get this fixed up, it's bleeding pretty badly and I need to get home." I walked back to Kit, Butch, and my sisters, ignoring Bradley and walked back to my car. Everyone hopped in, but there was one person left out.

"Oh no… I'm SO sorry Bradley, but it looks like there's no more room left in my car. I guess you could use the exercise, a lot of people walk in the city! See ya dude." I stuck my tongue out at him as I coasted my car past him.

"Buttercup, I know you don't like him, but he's still my boyfriend." I glanced at Kit from my rear view mirror.

"I don't trust him in my car, he already tried to kill me once." I glanced back up to gauge her reaction and was surprised to see her eyes start to water.

"Hey, wait, don't cry! What did I do this time?" Tears started to roll down her face and my sisters began to scold me.

"Come ON! Really Buttercup? Did you really have to make her cry?" I rolled my eyes and let them meet Butch's which were filled with amusement.

"It's not like I meant to! I don't even know why she's crying!" Blossom only scolded me further for my careless comment.

"Buttercup, you need to be nicer to her boyfriend! She just wants you guys to get along, why are you so difficult?" I looked in the mirror to see Kit nodding in agreement.

"Well I'll try to be nice when he tries NOT to kill me. And I prefer the term passionately driven over difficult." My answer earned me a chuckle from Butch and a groan from everyone in the back seats.

"Do it for Kit, Buttercup… At least treat him equally to us." Bubbles tried a different approach, but it wasn't going to work. I pulled over the car and unlocked the doors.

"Ok, if you want me to treat you guys equally, walk." Blossom gave me a look of disbelief.

"You can't be serious." I laughed sarcastically.

"If you're serious about me treating Bradley equal, then I'm serious about this." Kit's tears dried up and she shot me a mean glare.

"You're the worst friend EVER!" I shrugged as if it meant nothing because I knew she would come to me crying later about how bad she felt for saying something so mean.

"I guess I am. Now get off my back about Bradley or walk." I looked back to see three glares aimed towards me.

"You're going to make us choose?" I actually turned around at this one.

"I never told you to choose, I'm just saying that I'm not going to drive all the way home while everyone is yelling at me for not giving Bradley a ride when there is clearly no room in my car. It's not like I told you to like me or Bradley, I'm just saying I don't want to be scolded the whole ride home. Now if nobody else has any more complaints, I'll finish driving us home." I put my car back into gear and pulled off, not hearing one more complaint for the whole ride home.

Bradley's POV

I was walking through the city at a fast pace, trying to get to the Utonium household soon after Kit did. Not only was she going to be there with her vicious daredevil friend, she was also going to be there with two super powered girls and a super powered ex villain. Maybe I should have Kit move in with me, or at least get her to go back to her apartment.

I finally reached the house about a full hour later and I was sweating and tired. I dragged myself up the stairs and beat on the door. I waited patiently this time and to my disappointment, Buttercup opened the door, looking surprisingly open.

"Let me in bitch." Her eyes narrowed into a glare and she slammed the door on my face with more force than necessary.

"Buttercup who was that?" I heard Blossom ask from the other side of the door.

"Someone who has no business being here." I growled at her comment and banged on the door again. This time Blossom opened the door. As soon as she saw me she sent a glare at her delinquent sister.

"Buttercup, you promised you would at least TRY to be nice to him!" She sent me a glare from the couch.

"I did. As soon as I opened the door he called me a bitch! I didn't even do anything!" Kit walked up with an upset look on her face that I hated to see on her.

"What's wrong babe? The green one didn't hurt you did she? Let's go back to my house, you can stay with me for the rest of the summer." She shook her head lightly in refusal.

"She didn't hurt me, she said she would try to get along with you for me if you didn't provoke her. Can you try to be nice to her, for me?" I wanted to protest, but I couldn't refuse her, plus, maybe I overreacted a LITTLE.

"...Okay Kit, but only because I can't stand seeing you upset." She smiled brightly at me and gave me a gentle kiss that reminded me how much I loved her.

"Thanks Bradley, I love you." I smiled and pulled her closer to me.

"I love you too Kitty…" I kissed her forehead and pulled back a little to look in her eyes. "And I'll try to be nice, I promise." I looked over to see the black haired girl lying across the ex villain's legs, laughing about something he must've said. She didn't seem that bad, maybe I was wrong to come off so aggressive towards her.

I walked over to the pair and stopped in front of them, catching Buttercup's attention. She looked up at me with wide green eyes, her cheeks still flushed from laughing.

"Can I help you?" I could tell she wasn't trying to be rude, it was just her personality.

"Yeah, actually. I wanted to say I'm sorry for how I acted today and I was hoping we could start over..?" She looked at me blankly for a while, but smiled at me after thinking it over.

"I GUESS I can give you another shot at a first impression, but you better not fuck it up." My eyes widened and she started laughing loudly at me in a way that I could see that she honestly enjoyed life. "Oh man, you should've seen your face! You were all like, 'did she seriously just say fuck?'." She did a funny impersonation of my voice and I was starting to realize why Kit may like her.

"You aren't that bad… I think I can see why Kit likes you so much." She smiled lightly and looked back at me.

"You aren't half bad either when you aren't trying to bash my face in. I guess you didn't know I could take down a lion!" A cocky grin spread across her face and Butch started to tickle her, causing the poor girl to shriek and giggle loudly. I never thought of her as the ticklish type. I took that as my cue to leave, I needed to get back home.

I walked over to my girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye Kitty, I need to go home." She gave me a hug and held onto my wrist.

"I need to go back home too, can you give me a ride to my apartment?" I smiled at her and held her hand.

"Of course love." We walked outside and hopped in my black Ford F-150 that I left here when we went to Town Square.

Professor's POV

I cringed as I watched her cut up her left hand. She was left handed and it was going to be hard to use it after that. My heart dropped when her feet lost grip on the tank and she fell back in, but I wasn't surprised when she was able to recover. I was proud of how smart she proved to be since she didn't always try too hard in school. I felt awful about being the reason she was in this position, but I could only hope that she could pull though the next 42 challenges, I missed my girls and I only got to see her while she was either hurt or getting hurt physically and emotionally.

I tried to accept the fact that there was no other way out of it, but I just hated the feeling that I was the one to put her in such a bad position…

Buttercup's POV

I didn't even realize when I fell asleep on top of Butch, but I woke up to the feeling of him stroking my hair, a feeling that I decided I loved. When I opened my eyes, I was met with his deep forest green ones.

"Hey Cupcake. We have rehab tomorrow morning. You'll probably only have to go to the one, but I'm going until I'm clean. I knew it would be hard for him to quit, but he was going to do it anyways and I was proud of him. I smiled brightly and hugged him while I was lying down, burying my face in his very toned stomach.

"You're the best!"

Butch's POV

I smiled softly as she snuggled into my abs and started to run my fingers through her soft hair. If my brothers were here, they would be making fun of me so bad. Looking at her now made me wonder how I ever wanted to hurt her.

I ran my hand over her defined cheekbone and she leaned up to face me. I brushed some hair out of her face and looked down at her full light pink lips. I looked back up at her eyes and realized they reflected the way I felt. I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers, confirming that her lips felt just as soft as they looked. I moved one hand down to the base of her neck and hers moved to my chest, grabbing my shirt. I was about to French her, but her redhead sister ruined our fun when she made her presence known.

Buttercup pulled away still smiling at me, but turned to her sister with a glare.

"Really Bloss? Was that necessary?!" I smiled at the fact that she wanted it just as bad as I did and put my arm around her shoulder, something she surprisingly allowed.

"The professor wouldn't approve of you doing that in the house if he were here." Her glare turned dangerous and her voice lowered to a chilling whisper.

"The professor had more important things at hand than worrying about who I'm kissing, so hop off my back and let me live. I'm just as old as you are." Blossom just shook her head in defeat and walked upstairs.

I looked back to her and we both knew the mood was already down the drain. "I need to get back home Cupcake, but I'll text you tomorrow, just give me your number." I gave her my phone and she typed her number in. Once I got it back, I smiled at her. "I'll meet you at rehab. It should be FUN!" She laughed at my sarcasm and I laughed at how funny her laugh was.

"See ya Butch!" She called after me as I flew home. I really hoped everything would turn out well for her…

AN: Ok so there ya have it! Even more people are now involved and HIM is getting frustrated with Buttercup's success with the challenges. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, hopefully I can get the next one up soon, please review!


	10. Challenge 9

AN: So this chapter will be a little on the mature side. There will be a lemon, but I will put a warning before and after if you want to skip it. The chapter will MOSTLY be Buttercup and Butch, but the others will make an appearance. Enjoy the story :)

Chapter 9: Challenge 9

Butch's POV

I woke up to my alarm the next morning and almost forgot why I was waking up so early. I sat up and began to shiver and I suddenly remembered why, it was time to get ready for rehab and the only thing that was going to get me through this was Buttercup. I opened my phone and texted her to make sure she was awake.

When I didn't get a response, I called her, being late would only make it worse. It rang five times and right when I thought she wouldn't pick up, I heard a groggy voice on the other side of the line.

"Whaaat?" I laughed a little at her childish response to being woken up so early.

"We have somewhere to be cupcake, wake up." I expected a complaint, but instead I heard the sound of rustling blankets and a loud thump.

"I'm ok! I'm getting ready now, come to my house and I can drive us there. I'll bring the note and you can read it to me in the car. See ya soon!" I laughed at her panicked voice and hung up.

I decided on a quick shower with my pine scented body wash. It only took about five minutes and I hopped out and took three minutes to shave. I walked out of the bathroom to my room and opened my drawers, tossing a pair of black basketball shorts, a black t-shirt with a green adidas logo on the front and a pair of black mid calf socks onto my bed. I put on a pair of boxers and quickly got changed into the clothes I had picked out. After getting dressed, I walked back into the bathroom and brushed my teeth with my fresh mint toothpaste then spiked my hair to its normal look with just the right amount of hair gel.

I walked back to my room and slipped on a pair of green and black Nike free runs. Once deciding I looked ok, I ran down the stairs and passed my brothers, well, tried to.

"Butch, where the hell are you going so early?" Brick was the only one who was usually up at this time.

"I'm going to rehab, I'm tired of living off heroin Brick." He gave me a surprised look, but he also offered a kind smile.

"I'm proud of you bro. What changed your mind?" I looked nervously to the side and back at him.

"Promise not to laugh?" He nodded honestly. "I think I'm in love with a superhero…" my brother kept true to his word and didn't laugh only looked slightly confused. He knew the puffs were the only superheroes around here.

"Which one?" I looked at him and decided to be honest with him.

"Buttercup. It's actually kinda funny, she turned out to be the hot one! But it's not just that! She's also one of the funniest people I've ever met and even though she's in a really bad situation, she always acts strong around her sisters and in the public eye." Recognition lit up in Brick's red eyes.

"Oh yeah! She's been all over the news lately doing all that crazy shit! What got into her?" I sighed in frustration, even my brother thought she was going crazy.

"HIM has her in the middle of one of his fifty challenge deals where if she doesn't complete them he'll kill the Professor. Don't tell anyone though or he's gonna kill him anyways. I'm only telling you because we're related to HIM and could go to his lair whenever we want." Brick nodded solemnly.

"Poor girl… well I won't hold you up any longer, get your ass to rehab, good luck!" I smiled to my brother and flew to Buttercup's house appearing outside her window, only to see her in the middle of changing with only her shorts and a sexy green and black bra on. I quickly looked away, knowing she would actually kill me if she caught me staring at her. I knocked on her window with my eyes covered with my hand so she wouldn't think I saw anything.

"Butch, you can open your eyes, it's not like I'm completely naked. You can come in too." I uncovered my eyes and flew in to see her still looking for a shirt.

"You know cupcake, that's a real good look on you." I snaked my hands around her bare waist and turned her around to face me so I could see her blush.

"Wanna help me find a shirt?" She wanted to finish getting ready, but I knew we had at least thirty minutes before we had to leave.

"We have plenty of time Buttercup. Why don't we leave the shirt off for now and pick up where we left off last night..?" She shifted nervously, but I could see the sparkle in her eyes when she looked up at me. To my surprise, she leaned up and kissed me, pushing me back into her bed. I had never been on the bottom before, but for her, I didn't really mind. Her hands found their way to the bottom of my shirt and started to pull it up, It was only fair since she didn't have hers on.

We broke apart for only a second for me to completely remove my shirt. She came back in to continue and I was happy to join in. She nibbled at my lip, signaling to go a little farther. I slid my tongue between her lips, feeling how soft they were before entering her mouth. She tasted so good, like a cinnamon apple and I wanted more. I ran my fingers into her hair and pulled her closer to me so that we couldn't possibly be any closer.

She let out an almost inaudible moan, but I heard it and moved my other hand down to her ass to give it a squeeze in hopes for a louder one. I got my way as she moaned a little louder, flicking her tongue over mine before lightly tickling the roof of my mouth. It was getting to be too much for me and I flipped us over so that I was on top. She stared up at me, her face flushed and her lips looking even bigger than normal from our earlier kissing. I held her bare shoulders on the bed and I leaned back down to kiss her again. She kept it innocent for a while, but I wanted to move a little faster right now. I pressed my hips to hers and used one hand to grab her bra covered breast. As expected, she gasped and I took the opportunity to trace her open mouth with my tongue. She tangled both of her hands in my hair, pulling me even closer to her. I ran my hands across her toned stomach and back up, feeling everything, stopping at her face where I held her cheeks.

She wrapped her legs around my waist and just like deja vu, the door flew open and a loud gasp was heard. I fell off of Buttercup in a panic and she sat up an angry look on her face.

"What the hell Bloss! This is my room, do you know PRIVACY?" She got up and continued looking for a shirt while I put mine back on and tried to fix my hair.

"Buttercup! The professor would've KILLED you if he was here to see that!" Her head snapped around and glared at Blossom.

"The professor isn't here Blossom. And he won't be any time soon. Now get out so I can finish getting ready. Butch and I have to leave soon anyways." The older sister sighed in defeat and walked out of the room. I walked behind her and pulled out a dark gray t-shirt with a knot in the front and grabbed a black baseball cap for her to wear. I looked across the room to see a pair of black flip flops and gave her those as well. I was a genius.

She put them on and gave me that smile I had learned to love within the years I had known her. "Thanks Butch." She leaned up on her tiptoes and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips that I found I loved just as much as our make out just a few minutes ago.

I draped my arm across her shoulders and walked downstairs and outside to BC's car. Once we got in the car and started driving, I pulled the ninth challenge out of my pocket.

"Do you want me to read it to you now?" She gave me a quick glance to see what I was talking about and turned her attention back to the road.

"Yeah, might as well hear it now. I'd have to read it later by myself if you didn't." I nodded and began to read the red paper.

"Dear, dear, Buttercup. It seems one of my sons are quite fond of you, and he isn't the only one. According to online polls, between you and your sisters, 87% of voters would rather see you naked and 76% would want to have sex with you. I'm sure you've lived the life as a celebrity long enough to know that you don't want to disappoint your fans- I don't like where this is going." I looked to her to see an uncomfortable look on her unusually pale face.

"I don't either… continue anyways." I nodded and got back to the letter.

"You don't want to disappoint your fans so my next challenge for you will satisfy some of their desires. I have a friend who runs a strip club in Central Townsville. You're looking for a club named: 'The Candy Cage'. Tonight, you are going to guest star as a stripper in place of one of the regulars since she had quite the accident. Her shift is from 7-11 PM. The catch is you have to act the part, you can't fight anything, unless it's against the rules of the club, and you can't fight anyone. Have fun tonight, I'll make sure your fans know all about this outing so that you can have a good audience. Don't worry, it won't be too bad, I'll let you keep the money. Good luck Buttercup, think next time before you turn one of my sons against me." I started at the letter and glanced over it again, hoping I had read it wrong. I glanced over to her and I could see she had a wall up to hide what she was feeling.

"I don't even know how to be a stripper. How am I even supposed to do this?" Her voice was empty as if it was being forced, which it probably was.

"Just look up some YouTube videos, honestly they have the best tutorials. Well, that or watch videos of strippers…" I watched as her grip tightened on the wheel and she tried not to blow up.

"I don't want to do this." She spoke through clenched teeth and I couldn't tell if it was because she was angry, holding back tears, or both. I moved my hand to rest it comfortingly on her thigh.

"It'll be okay, I promise. They have rules in strip clubs where they can't have sex with any of the strippers unless they allow it. Even then, at least it would be private and only one person could have you since there's a one person limit. You aren't a virgin are you?" Her nose scrunched up and she moved her leg out from under my hand.

"Why does everyone think I'm not? Is there something about me that says I'm the whore of the family?" I flinched at the implication and realized that I probably shouldn't have brought up a sensitive topic at this very moment.

"Shit that's not what I meant cupcake! People don't think that of you, you're not even close to that. If anything, they only think that since you're the wild one out of your sisters and the challenge is kinda playing that up." I saw her curl her lip in frustration and I honestly felt bad for her.

"Butch, I am a virgin. I don't want to lose that even if I seem like the type who already has… What am I gonna do?" I looked at her uneasily, but an idea that just might work popped in my head.

"Look, if I can get out of rehab tonight, even if I have to break out, I'll go and I'll take you in the back to have sex with me and we can just do whatever you want. Plus, I don't want anyone else taking your virginity, especially if you aren't ready…" I didn't even realize that we were in a parking garage until the car stopped, but I was glad we were. She leaned across the console and kissed me gently and lovingly, something I could definitely get used to.

"Thanks Butch… you're the best." She laced her small hand with my big one as we walked into the hospital and I smiled at the feeling.

Buttercup's POV

We walked in the hospital hand in hand and I somehow felt safe. We walked up to the front where a lady reading a magazine was sitting. We stopped in front of her and as soon as she noticed our presence, the looked me over and gave a disgusted look. I held onto Butch's hand tighter and squirmed from the discomfort of the situation.

"Um… can I help you?" Her tone had a little too much attitude for my liking, but luckily Butch spoke up.

"Yeah, actually. She's coming with me as moral support for rehab. Do you know where the rehabilitation center is?" The lady looked embarrassed and I squeezed his hand to show my thanks, he squeezed back. She gave us directions, all while avoiding all eye contact and right when we turned our backs, she called out to me.

"Let's see how a cute little virgin does in a strip club!" My whole body stiffened and I whipped around and stormed over to the reception desk. I grabbed her shirt and pulled her closer to face me.

"Where the FUCK did you hear about that?!" She stared with wide eyes and I honestly thought she would have a heart attack, so I dropped her back in her chair.

"It's in the magazine!" I looked at the article and it had a list of all the other places it was.

"Star, People, Townsville Talk, Playboy?, ew, Townsville Times, Townsville news channel, Fox News, BBC, and TIME? TIME doesn't even do these kinds of articles! Who the hell published this?!" The lady flinched in fear and whimpered. I looked at the place where there should be an author, but there was none. I growled and stormed back to Butch, trying to ignore the situation for the time being.

"It'll be ok cupcake, trust me." My mood brightened a little and we walked to the rehabilitation center. Once we got there, the lady at the reception desk gave us a weird look.

"Umm, what are you two doing here together? Aren't you like mortal enemies?" I let out a low growl, but Butch gave me a light elbow and a stern glare that told me to calm down. He didn't see the devious smirk I sent him. I grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him in for a long kiss, sticking my tongue into it as soon as possible to let the lady know good and well that we got along just fine. He came out of his shocked state as soon as my tongue flicked over his and he kissed back with just as much enthusiasm before I pulled back and gave a smug look to the receptionist.

"We get along JUST fine." She handed some paperwork, not able to say anything and pointed in the direction we were supposed to go. "Thanks DOLL." I sent a sarcastic smile over my shoulder and walked in the direction she told us to go in.

Kitty's POV

"Babe, wake up! Your friend is all over the tabloids, and not in a good way." I shot up in my bed and my eyes met with emerald ones.

"What? Buttercup?" He nodded and pulled out Star Magazine, shoving it in my hands.

"Yeah, her. It's the top story." I flipped to the first story in the magazine to see eight pictures of my spunky friend, one from each stunt. The ninth picture confused me though, it was a picture of 'The Candy Cage', a popular strip club in central Townsville.

"She never had anything to do with a strip club, this is fake!" Bradley just kept his gaze even with mine.

"You might wanna read it babe." I looked back down at the magazine and froze at the headline: "Teen Superhero Gone Wild: Guest Appearance at Strip Club?". I shook my head, not believing a word it said. I read the article to be sure I read it right.

"Teen superhero, Buttercup Utonium, seems to have gone wild after her father, Professor John Utonium, went on a business trip. Not even two days after he left, the 18 year old shocked many bystanders by laying on the train tracks, waiting until the train was a second away before moving. The risky behavior didn't stop there, and in fact, it seems that she had a new stunt each day, including jumping from a moving car, publicly skinny dipping, walking between skyscrapers on a rope, riding a motorcycle through Townsville at over 100 mph, rumors of her showing up to a drinking party, overdosing on drugs, and just yesterday, volunteering to take part in escaping a water torture chamber.

Many people are wondering what her next stunt will be and we just might have the answer. A tip came from popular strip club "The Candy Cage" that one of their strippers were not able to perform and Buttercup Utonium would be taking her shift from 7-11 PM tonight. Has one of Townsville's heros finally gone off the deep end? It's definitely a possibility." I could only stare blinking at the article that totally degraded my best friend, something that made me mad.

"WHAT THE FUCK! This isn't true Bradley! She didn't tell me about this!" His stare was hard and slightly disgusted.

"She's a bad influence baby… Maybe you should stay away from her until her little identity crisis blows over." He gave me a condescending look that made me want to SCREAM!

"BRADLEY WHY DO YOU HATE HER? SHE'S ACTUALLY SUCH A GOOD PERSON IF YOU WOULD ACTUALLY TRY TO TALK WITH HER!" Halfway through my outburst I started to cry, why couldn't they just get along, couldn't he see she needed support right now? How could he expect me to just ditch her? His eyes filled with regret and guilt as he tried to comfort me.

"No, babe, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I'll try to get along with her, I swear! Please don't cry love, I hate seeing you so upset…" his thumbs wiped the tears from my cheeks and offered me a small smile. I smiled back to him and pulled him close to me.

"Thanks Bradley… I love you." He pressed a loving kiss into my hair.

"I love you too Kitty, I'll do anything to keep you happy." I smiled and snuggled into his chest to go back to sleep.

Blossom's POV

After my sister left, I walked downstairs to see my youngest sister gaping at the newspaper, something she NEVER reads.

"Uh… hey Bubbles, since when do you read the newspaper?" She flinched out of her daze and turned to me with a pale face.

"Did you know that Buttercup is working at a strip club tonight?" I did a double take abe snatched the paper from her hands. I immediately found the article headed: "Good Girl Gone Bad". I read the short passage to find out what had Bubbles so shocked.

"Buttercup Utonium, 18 year old superhero, has noticeably stepped out of her typical good girl superhero routine as of late to take up a wild child reputation. From jumping out of cars to walking between skyscrapers, the young hero has made quite the name for herself. Most citizens in Townsville have been viewing this as a childish act for attention, but just today, an announcement was made from Central Townsville's most popular strip club, 'The Candy Cage', that the middle Utonium sister was moving to more adult things and would be guest starring in place of one of their strippers from 7-11 PM. This new behavior leaves many people wondering: Will her two sisters soon follow in her footsteps?" I didn't believe it, they had to have been wrong.

"Bubbles, they probably just got the wrong information or it's just some gossip!" She didn't respond, but she shoved three more magazines in my face: 'Time', 'People', and 'Star'. All of the magazines had similar articles to the newspaper as their main story. I shook my head subconsciously.

"What's wrong with her? Why is she doing this to herself?" Bubbles sounded genuinely concerned and at this point I was also very worried for her future as well.

Buttercup's POV

I walked out of the rehab center with Butch, hoping they wouldn't say anything about him leaving even though he wasn't discharged. We were right in front of the exit when we were stopped by a demanding voice.

"Excuse me, but he wasn't discharged. He needs to stay for a few more days." I met the lady with the kindest fake smile I could muster and spoke in a nice voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll make sure he's back tomorrow. Thanks for everything!" I tapped her cheek sarcastically and walked out with Butch while she was still frozen in her surprise.

Once we got in my car, we both started laughing hysterically. "SHE COULDN'T EVEN AHAHAHAHAH MOVE! B, YOU GOT HER SO GOOD!" Butch was hollering in the passenger seat and I couldn't find it in myself to breathe as the look on the older woman's face replayed over and over again in my head.

"HEY YOU TWO GET BACK HERE!" That sobered me up real fast. I put the car in reverse and skirted right outta that parking lot and away from the enraged hospital worker. We pulled up to Butch's house since I didn't want to deal with a lecture from Blossom about this morning.

"Ok, I need to learn how to be a stripper. Like it or not, it has to be done and I'm not about to make a fool of myself. You get to help me." I turned off my car and we walked inside the house, which was luckily empty. He gently took my hand and led me to the gym, which to my surprise had a pole.

"Do I even want to know why you have a pole in here?" He blushed and a sheepish look came over his face.

"What? It's just for decoration, I swear!" I shrugged and walked over to a computer in the corner of the gym and looked up stripping tutorials, by far THE most awkward thing I've ever looked up. He walked up beside me and rested his hand on my hip.

"Find anything good?" I nodded and pulled up a few videos of pole dancing, lap dancing, and stripping. As we marathoned on stripping tutorials, I started to feel increasingly uncomfortable with what I was going to have to do. Everyone probably knew and would more than likely show up just to see what a bad girl Buttercup Utonium is turning out to be.

After the tenth video, I figured I had already watched ten too many and decided to just go for it. I turned off the computer and broke away from Butch's grip. He gave me a questioning look, but he knew what was up when he saw I was making my way over to the pole.

"Ok B, here's how it's gonna work. I'm not gonna lie, I've been to a strip club before and the best strippers always strip to their bra and panties, which is always a thing and lacy, before pole dancing." I nodded and he turned on a song that made me flush in embarrassment: Pony by William Singe.

"Butch! Fuck no!" He only laughed and refused to turn it off.

"You could have to dance to something worse tonight, so just do this for me." I growled in defeat and began to dance to the highly inappropriate song. I eased into it by rolling my body to the beat of the song and shook my hips seductively whenever I felt it in the music. I started by pulling my shirt off. I slowly inched it up, revealing my toned stomach. I didn't fully take off the shirt until I gave a peek at my lacy green and black bra. Once I pulled it off, I tugged at the waistline of my denim shorts and sauntered over to where Butch was sitting. I looked him dead in the eyes and bit my lip as I sent him a seductive smirk. By the look on his face, I was doing a GREAT job. I winked at him as I slowly unbuttoned and unzipped my pants, revealing the front of my panties but stopped there to straddle his lap.

I grinded into him on rhythm with the song and leaned in close enough so he could get a close up of my uncovered chest. At a break between verses, I slid off of him and worked my shorts down my legs, kicking them up so I could catch them and toss them over my shoulder. My lacy black thong with a green ribbon were now completely visible and from the flush on his face, Butch liked what he saw.

I sent him a wink before turning around and swaying my hips purposefully as I walked towards the pole. I put one hand on it and squatted down before standing back up, running my body along the cool metal. After I was standing again, I started to grind on the pole to the song. I put my other hand on the pole and turned so my back was facing the pole, my hands above my head. I tightened my grip and pulled myself up so that I was completely upside down, one of my legs wrapped around and one was straight up. I performed a slow walkover but on the pole, which was difficult, but I managed to pull it off.

After landing back on my feet, I used my hands to swing around the pole and flipped myself up, using my legs to spin myself around the second time. This time I slid down it like a fireman's pole and grinded on it again once my feet touched the floor. As the song came to a close, I hopped onto it and finished with the splits, still holding myself up.

Butch stood up quickly and was clapping loudly. I slowly eased myself down and stood half naked in front of him. "How was that?"

"B, there is no fucking way you've never done this before! You were AMAZING! That was by far the best pole dancing I've ever seen and you are by far the hottest stripper I've ever seen. The matching bra and thong totally give you extra points too." I blushed at the praise and walkEd over to hug him.

"Thank you SO much Butch! I have honestly never done this before and I was so nervous…" he pulled away and put his large finger under my chin, tilting my head up so I would be facing him.

"It was all my pleasure babe, you gave me quite a show." He closed the small space between us and let his lips crash onto mine. His hands roamed to my uncovered ass and gave it a hard squeeze, making my gasp, which gave him an opportunity to slide his tongue into my mouth. I let my tongue curl around his and released it soon after. His tongue traced the inside of my mouth and once he was done, I did the same with his, he tasted like cool mint. He pulled me even closer by my butt and ran one of his hands along the curve of my waist, my hand found their way to the back of his neck, playing with some of his hair that I could reach. We were both starting to get really into the kiss when the door was flung open and Butch's two brothers walked in, freezing when they caught sight of the two of us.

Brick gave me a once over and gave Butch a sly grin. "So she really is a stripper… Never thought she had it in her." I growled lowly at the ginger and Butch pulled me closer to him. I was about to speak, but Butch beat me to it.

"Shut the fuck up Brick. It's not her fucking choice you fucking asshole. Just leave us alone." The smirk fell right off of both of the brothers' faces.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I totally forgot about HIM… Look, all of us are behind you. It might not be too much considering we used to be villains, but if you ever need anything we're here." I peeked out from behind Butch, a small smile on my face.

"Thanks…" Boomer opened his mouth to say something, but before he could my phone started ringing. I glared over at my shorts, where my phone still was, and walked over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Buttercup, what's wrong with you? Why didn't you at least tell us?!" Um… what?

"Uh, Bloss, you're gonna have to be a little more specific than that, what did I do again?"

"When did you become a stripper?! What were you thinking?"

"Oh. That. Well, I just found out like an hour ago myself, so don't be mad at me." There was a small silence on the other side.

"That makes no sense… Then who said you would do it?" I wanted so badly to spill about the challenge, but I knew he would kill the Professor if I did.

"I don't know, but I'm pissed at whoever did it because now people are actually thinking I've gone crazy!"

"Whatever, just get home Buttercup."

"Um I can't right now…" I headed an exasperated sigh on her side of the call.

"Why not?"

"I'm practicing for tonight so I don't completely embarrass myself. Plus, I need to be there in an hour and I still need to buy something stripper like to wear."

"You know what, do what you want, I'll see you when you get home." I started to say goodbye, but she hung up before I could get a word out. She was so moody…

I turned to Butch and gave him a nervous look. "Can you come shopping with me to find an outfit for tonight?" His smile grew until it almost scared me, he was about to pick out THE Slut first clothes he could find, but to my surprise he said something different.

"You don't need an outfit, just lingerie and heels. I only had you strip because I wanted to see how sexy you looked doing it." My face flushed in embarrassment.

"Butch! Whatever, come help me pick that out, I don't have any." His smirk grew and he nodded.

"I will GLADLY take you lingerie shopping." His brothers chuckled with him and growled lowly. I put my clothes back on and grabbed his hand to drag him to my car.

"I only have an hour so we gotta hurry." He happily hopped in the car with me and we sped off to the mall. Once we got there, we walked straight to Victoria's Secret. Almost as soon as we walked in, a lady walked up to us with a big smile on her face.

"Buttercup Utonium, I'm glad you came! Someone by the name of Henry Ishad Mason left you something he said you needed to wear tonight! Would you like to try it on?" My face paled at the name, the initials spelled out HIM. Instead of trying to speak through the lump in my throat, I only nodded. She led me to the back and gave me a bag.

"If you need any help there's a button inside the changing room." I nodded again and closed the door, pulling out whatever HIM wanted me to wear. I pulled out a small piece of see through fabric, only the built in bra wasn't see through. I reluctantly put it on and stared at myself in the mirror in horror. You could see EVERYTHING! I thought it would cover my boobs, but the material was so skimpy it covered very little. Below the built in excuse for a bra, a criss cross strap connected them and went down into black see through material that only covered the middle section of my stomach, not that it covered anything anyways and curved back out to wrap around my hips and faded into a thong in the back, a very small one that might as well not be there. Even the very bottom was see through, like you could SEE my… lady parts. Luckily it was darker than the rest of it, but if anyone looked hard enough, they could see it.

I jumped when I heard a knock on the door, but felt relieved when I heard Butch's voice. "Let's see it B." I nervously peeked my head out of the door to meet his expectant eyes. "Come on, all the way out." I cringed and looked around to see a lot of couples lingerie shopping.

"It's really, REALLY revealing Butch…" he only chuckled and gave me an amused look.

"It's supposed to be revealing babe. It's lingerie." I gave him one last hesitant look, but complied and stepped out of the dressing room. Butch's mouth dropped and his face turned red.

"Hot DAMN! Remind me to thank HENRY later!" His outburst caught the attention of every guy in the store, who now had similar faces as Butch. I felt the heat of every glare of EVERY female customer in the store and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Turn around babe, let's see that ass." My face only heated up more as more guys shamelessly crowded around.

"Butch, I don't think-" He raised his brow at me and motioned for me to turn around. I sighed in defeat and turned around. I heard more than one whistle and I wanted to curl up and die. Apparently Butch heard it too and didn't appreciate all the attention I was getting at the moment.

"Hey fuck off, get back to your OWN girlfriends!" I decided to have a little fun with him.

"You know, a lot more people are going to be watching me tonight…" He pouted and gave me a childish look.

"Well then I'll wait for tonight, go change, too many people are looking." I shrugged and started to walk back into the room, but was stopped by an employee.

"Wait! I'm sorry, but can I get a picture to send to HQ? Honestly, you look like you could be an angel. Just strike a pose or something and try to look sexy." I shrugged, I've done photo shoots before. I cocked my hip and let one arm fall to the side while the other one slightly messed up my hair. I slightly turned my head to the side and glanced back at the camera, leaving my lips slightly parted. The lady snapped like three pictures then had me turn around. I was at an angle so that I could look over my shoulder, but the whole back was still visible. I rested my hand lightly on my shoulder and looked over my shoulder, lightly biting my lip. The lady got a few more before thanking me for my time and walking off.

Once again, all of the guys were crowded around the area and Butch sent them all a nasty glare before turning back to me. "Go change." I laughed at his jealousy and I decided to put his mind to rest. I walked back in the changing room and put back on my normal clothes. I came out and he pulled me close to him protectively.

"I hate HIM." He looked around and saw all the guys still looking so he surprised me by kissing me passionately right in front of them. He shoved his tongue down my throat and I returned the kiss until he pulled away to glare at all of the onlookers.

"Never took you for the jealous type babe." I smirked up at him and he pulled my close to him so I could smell his intoxicating pine scent.

"I wasn't until I met you B." I giggled and we walked to a nearby shoe store to find some heels. Almost immediately upon walking in, Butch picked up a pair of black six inch platform heels that had two straps on my ankles. I tried them on and he was surprised when I could walk just fine in them.

"You're getting these babe, they make your legs look sexy as fuck." I laughed and agreed so we bought the shoes. We headed out of the mall with two bags and hopped back in my car.

"Ok so now we're off to the strip club, it's already six and I should get there early to get changed and to get a rundown on what to do." He nodded and I drove to The Candy Cage. I parked in the back lot of the club and walked in through the back with both bags. The manager walked up to me with a grin on his face.

"Glad you got here early. Here's the deal: you go on stage and dance on the pole for a song and then you walk around and socialize and flirt with the guests. They'll probably pay you extra for a private show, which is where you take them to one of the private rooms, which are in the back and dance for them and/or on them. Private shows should only last for a half hour. Just a warning, they CAN touch you however they want and if they pay you, it's part of your job to let them. Your room is the fifth one from the right. In between private shows, you are expected to be out in the open and you get off at 11. Sound good?" I wanted to throw up but I nodded reluctantly instead.

"Ok, great! Go get changed and you'll be in about an hour. Do whatever you need to be prepared before then and don't come out before 7." I nodded and once he left I shot Butch a panicked look.

•••ENTERING LEMON SECTION•••

"I don't wanna lose my virginity to a creepy old dude!" I was on the verge of crying and he pulled me close to him and leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"Would you mind losing it to me?" I pulled back and stared at him in shock.

"What do you mean?" He looked at me lovingly and brushed a tear from my cheek that I didn't even notice before.

"I could take it for you right now so you won't have to lose it to a creepy old guy. You have an hour and that's more than enough time. If you don't want to, I'm not going to force you, but it's an option." The way he looked at me told me he meant it, that he didn't just want to fuck me because he was horny and wanted to get his dick wet. I thought about it for a while, but one look into his eyes made my decision for me.

I jumped on him and he caught me by my legs, holding me up as I kissed him, my hands already in his hair. I pulled away after a second and looked him in the eyes.

"Please be gentle?" His eyes held a sincerity I hadn't seen before in him as he nodded. He walked me back into changing room and grabbed a condom from a glass jar. How convenient. He kissed me gently and lightly moved his hands over my body as I laid on a large couch in the dressing room. I moaned quietly at his light touch. As he was kissing me, he tugged at the bottom of my shirt. I sat up and broke away for a moment so he could pull it off of me. He leaned back in for a kiss and pushed me back down on my back, letting his kissed trail down my neck but being careful not to leave a hickey, something I was grateful for. I snuck my hands under his shirt and felt his hard six pack. He pulled away and pulled his shirt off and repositioning himself so he was sitting up. I got the hint and sat on his lap and began grinding on him like I did earlier today.

This time, he let his hands trail up to my chest and slid his hands back to the hook. He gave me a questioning look as if he was asking my permission and I answered him with a passionate kiss. He smiled into it and I felt my bra get looser. I pulled away and let my bra slide off my shoulders and I felt oddly exposed. Nobody had ever seen me like this before.

He must've sensed my discomfort because he looked at me in the eyes and grazed his hands lightly over them.

"You're absolutely beautiful." I smiled and kissed him again and continued grinding on him as his hands were occupied with my D cups. I blushed as I felt something hard press against my crotch and he pulled away, smiling at me as he tugged at my shorts. I got up and pulled my shorts down my legs, showing the thong that he got to see a few hours ago. I looked up to see him in a pair of boxers and felt my stomach knot up at the size of his bulge. He tilted my head up to look into his eyes and he gave me a loving look.

"It'll be ok B, I promise." I swallowed the lump in my throats and nodded. He picked me up and laid me back down on the couch. He started grinding on me and I started to feel more aroused as I felt his hard on rub against me. I moved my hands down to his boxers and slid them under the waistband to feel him. He was already hard and I knew he was taking it slow for me, but I wanted him now.

"Butch?" He looked at me and go the message. He pulled down his underwear and I tried to hide my nerves at the sight of how big he was. He pulled at my underwear and I lifted my legs so he could slide them off easily. He looked me in the eyes and smiled.

"Beautiful." I smiled and blushed and he kissed my entrance. I let out a pleasured moan at the feeling. I gasped when I felt two fingers go in me and whimpered from how good it felt as he moved them around. He inserted another finger and I covered my mouth as I moaned loudly as I felt myself stretch. I was caught up in the feeling and was snapped out of it when he spread my legs further apart and gave me the condom. I opened the package and kissed his dick before covering it with the latex barrier. He lined his giant rod up with my opening and looked me in the eyes.

"I swear it will feel really good soon, it only hurts for a little." I nodded nervously and he kissed me passionately as he slammed into me. I gave a muffled cry into Butch's mouth as he took my virginity, something that would've hurt a lot less if I had my powers. He stayed still inside me and pulled away.

"Tell me when you're ready B." It hurt so bad, but the sting was already subsiding. I nodded.

"I'm good." He nodded and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. He started slow and gradually picked up the pace, his hands finding my breasts and squeezing them.

"Ahh Butch! Go faster!" He complied and started pounding into me. I screamed from the pleasure and felt a pressure start to build inside of me and I could feel Butch stiffen inside me as well.

"Oh god B, you're so fucking tight, I can't hold it anymore!"

"Butch I-I'm gonna-" I cut myself off with a high pitched moan. He kissed me passionately as we both had our release. He grunted against my lips and I screamed into his. He pulled out and collapsed on top of me.

•••END OF LEMON SCENE•••

"God, I think I love you…" I looked over at Butch and realized I was staring right into his sincere deep forest eyes.

"I-I think I might love you too, even though we aren't even official." He laughed and I couldn't help but admire his smile that I never saw as a kid. He leaned over and kissed me gently.

"Buttercup, will you be my girlfriend?" I looked at him and thought about it before answering.

"I will be after tonight. I really don't want to start our relationship by possibly cheating on you." He flashed me a perfect white smile.

"I think I can wait one more night, but only for you." I smiled and kissed my soon to be boyfriend.

"Great, now get dressed, I need to be ready in a few and I need to not look like I just had sex." He slowly got up and dressed himself. I had on my lingerie and was currently bent over, putting on my heels.

"See you soon B." With that, I felt a slap on my ass that was thankfully not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to make me mad.

"BUTCH FUCKING JOJO!" I heard the door slam and figured he made a break for it as soon as he touched me. I sighed to myself and started to fix my hair so that instead of a hot mess, it was a cute kind of messy, the way I always wore it. I pulled out the eyeliner and used it to make my already bright eyes pop even more. I added a smokey eye shadow and mascara.

I saw a bottle on the table and it was labeled 'body shimmer powder'. I decided that it couldn't hurt and lightly dusted my skin in it so that it shone in the light, but only enough to make it look more enticing. I looked around for anything else I could wear and I noticed a light pink lipgloss. I applied only a little to make my lips look more noticeable. I gave myself a once over and decided I was ready.

I looked at the clock on the table and it read 6:58. I walked out and met with the manager.

"You look great Buttercup! You're on in two. To get to the stage, you just go through the red door. The stage is empty except a pole. Wait until the music comes on to start, then do your best. You don't need to stay on the pole the whole time, you can also walk through the audience to dance if you want to. You got that?" I nodded and looked to the red door.

"Got it." I thought about all of the people who were probably going to be out there and hoped it was nobody I knew really well, besides Butch. I stood in the same place, mentally preparing myself for all the attention I was about to get, when the manager gave me my cue to go on stage.

I opened the red door and walked through it and onto the dark stage, a spotlight on the pole I was supposed to dance on. I swallowed the huge lump in my throat and walked into the spotlight, which earned me loud whistles and hollers from all over. I scanned the audience and caught Butch's eye, which calmed my nerves.

When the noise quieted down, the music started to play and I instantly recognized the song as 'Get Low'. My eyes widened and I could see Butch laughing. I mentally reminded myself to get him for that later and started my on the fly routine.

I used the first two lines to get my hands on the pole and my body pressed against it and squatted down a little at a time each time the song said 'get low'. During the chorus, I decided to do the same thing for each time. I flipped myself upside down on the pole for 'from the window' and went into the splits from the same position for the next line. The reaction and the money I got to that move proved that they liked what I was doing so far. I slid down the pole and flipped down so that my backside was facing them and started grinding on the pole. Every time the song said 'Got dam' EVERYONE in the room yelled it with the song.

During the next verse I flipped up on the pole again and wrapped my legs around it. I pulled myself up so that I was even higher and went back down with a slow sideways walkover. I squatted with my back to the pole and slowly stood back up. I came off the pole and strutted over to Butch, who was luckily in the front, and straddled him. I sent him a wink and I could see him blush madly as I gave him a very public lap dance. I lightly bit his lip as I got up and strutted back onstage for the chorus, where I repeated my earlier routine.

For the next verse, I turned my back towards the audience shaking my ass and grinding on the pole. I walked back into the audience and sent an apologetic look to Butch as I sat on a guy who looked like he was in his early twenties and grinded my butt into him. I felt severely uncomfortable, but covered it up with a look of absolute confidence. On my way back to the stage, a random crowd member slapped my bare ass, but I knew I couldn't do anything so I bit my tongue hard enough to make it bleed a little and continued the song. I walked over to the pole and grabbed onto it with both hands as it was about to go into the chorus again and started that part of the song again, making a few switches to make it more interesting.

After my experience with dancing in the crowd, I decided to stay on the pole. I pulled off more tricks that I could only do thanks to my extensive gymnastics training. I held myself sideways in the pole and formed a perfect scorpion, which excited all the viewers to the point of screaming and throwing money at me. This was so fucking degrading! I flipped down so that my back was facing cold metal and grinded my ass on it. I dropped down low so that my butt almost touched the ground and performed a backflip so that I landed on the pole upside down. I earned many whistles and cheers for the stunt and I came back down with a slow walkover, careful not to slip on the good amount of cash that had gathered on the stage. I had both of my hands on the smooth metal and did a straight backflip, landing in the splits as the song ended. The audience went wild and screamed many perverted comments and threw even more money as if they were made of the shit.

"Hope you can work my dick like that baby!" Ok, ew.

"Got damn!" That was kinda funny, actually.

"She can work a pole as well as she can fight!" That one pissed me off severely, I could fight SO much better than I could dance on a fucking pole.

The spotlight went off and I took that as my cue to walk backstage where I met an ecstatic manager. "That. Was. AMAZING! The cash collectors should be out with your money shortly. This is the biggest crowd we've ever had! I guess everyone wants to see a hot superhero in skimpy clothing, it's like a fantasy of some kind!" I gave him my best fake smile.

"Yup!" Before he could speak, a group of men in suits walked up to us with a large bag.

"We counted one thousand eight hundred thirty two dollars. That's a new record, congratulations." They handed me the bag and I put it in the dressing room with the rest of my stuff. I walked back out to meet with the manager, who was thoroughly impressed by my performance.

"Now you can just walk around and socialize with all of the guests. If someone wants to talk to you privately, take them to your room, which is the fifth from the right. Don't do anything until you're paid, some people try to get off with free entertainment." I nodded but was completely disgusted with the thought of being entertainment for some creepy guy.

"Good! Now get out there and socialize." I walked towards the door that let to the club, but was stopped by three other strippers.

"Um… did you need something?" Their expectant looks turned into glares as they sized me up.

"I don't know who you think you are, newbie, but you aren't shit! We've been here for so much longer than you and we're the real stars that everyone wants to see, so don't walk around all cocky because you raised a few cocks." I tried not to laugh, but I couldn't help it.

"What are you? Thirty? I don't know who you think YOU are, but I'm 18 and still drew a bigger crowd and got more money than any of you on my first performance. And as for who I am, I'm Buttercup fucking Utonium, remember it." The regular strippers stared after me, there mouths hanging open as if I had heavily offended them, which I probably did.

I walked past them and into the common area where I immediately caught Butch's eye. He quickly made his way over to me and pulled me off to the side.

"You looked real sexy up there B, and don't worry, I punched the guy who touched your ass." I gave him a warm smile.

"Thanks babe." I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now please try and talk to me the whole time so that people will try to stay away." He nodded and took my hand, leading me to the bar.

"I'm 21, I can buy you a drink." I happily followed him, I could REALLY use a few shots. He ordered us both a few shots of fireball, which didn't even come close to getting me drunk, but did help me relax a little.

"Sorry for grinding on that one guy, I figured that I shouldn't only give you a lap dance or people would get mad." He kissed me on the temple to show his understanding. I was about to say something else, but some guy who HAD to be at least the professor's age ordered me a drink. I honestly wanted to puke at the thought of flirting with a guy who could be my dad, but shot Butch an apologetic look and he nodded understandingly. The guy sat down next to me and I turned to face him, taking a sip of my drink.

"Hey baby, you were REAL sexy on stage and I couldn't help but be jealous of the two guys up front who got the privilege of having you touch them like that. Think I could have the same treatment for the right price?" I inwardly puked and screamed at how disgusting this was, but I had to pet the challenge.

"Private shows are fifty dollars, you willing to pay that much?" I blinked innocently at him and rested my fingers on his thigh. His eyes grew wide and he pulled out two twenties and a ten with no hesitation. I pulled him into my room and put the money on a table in the room. I gently pushed on his shoulders so that he would sit down in the chair and sat in his lap, facing him. He put his hands on the upper part of my butt as I grinded on him. I honestly wanted to cry at how fucking degrading this whole situation was, but I kept an even face. His hands moved up my bare sides and he gripped hard at my slim waist.

"Damn baby, you're so sexy!" He licked my collar bone and grinded back into me. My thoughts went to the professor and I actually had to hold back puke, which he luckily didn't see since he was too busy licking at my neck. He pulled away and looked at me in the eyes.

"You're so exotic, your eyes are a brighter green than I've ever seen and your hair is so dark and soft." He leaned in to smell my hair and I started to get SEVERELY creeped out by this dude. I wanted to throw up again as I felt something hard poke at my leg. His large hands moved from my waist up to my chest and he grabbed my boobs. I froze and thought about killing the guy until I remembered that HIM would kill the professor if I did.

While his nose was in my hair, he whispered in my ear, attempting to sound sexy, but actually sounding hella creepy. "Bite my lip like you did to that one boy." He pulled back to look at me and I faked a seductive smirk as I leaned in and lightly bit his lower lip, pulling on it a bit as I released him. He smirked at me and I realized I wasn't going to be able to look this man in the face so I turned my back to him and started grinding my ass on him like I did to the second guy. While I was glad his hands were finally off of my chest, they somehow found a worse place to touch. His hands wandered in between my legs and to be honest, I was still sore from earlier. I froze at his touch, but he squeezed me and whispered in my ear.

"Keep going." It took all my self control not to cry as I grinded back into the man.

Once the thirty minutes were up, I got out of the room as fast as possible, sticking the money in my sorta bra. I immediately found Butch and ran over to him.

"Butch, that dude coulda been my fucking dad! I had to try so hard not to puke." He hugged me close and walked me into my private room. He sat on the chair and pulled me into his lap, hugging me close to him.

"I'm so sorry baby…" I froze at the name and images of the middle aged guy came back in my mind.

"Don't call me that, HE called me that and it was fucking gross." He pulled my face into his shoulder and kissed the top of my head lovingly.

"We can stay in here for a while and you can say I paid you for extra time. Then I can try my best to keep any guys away." I nodded and snuggled further into him. We didn't say anything, he just held me there until I knew we had to leave. I walked out with a hundred dollar bill that I told him I would give him back later because I knew those stripper bitches were keeping an eye on me.

I was walking close to Butch, but a had wrapped around my mouth and an arm restrained me. I started to panic and flail, but a familiar voice was enough to make me stop.

"Buttercup, calm down, it's us." I turned to meet two new pairs of emerald eyes. It was Kit and Bradley.

Bradley's POV

Maybe Kitty was right about Buttercup actually being a good person, she looked miserable here, completely uncomfortable as if she was being forced to do it. To the untrained eye, her blank look could fool you, but I'm very good at reading people.

"Bradley, there she is!" I walked over to her and put my hano over her mouth and restrained her, pulling her to a dimly lit corner. She started flailing and Kit spoke up.

"Buttercup, calm down, it's us." She immediately stopped her struggle and looked up to see the both of us. I almost smiled as I saw relief wash over her features, but panic soon took over.

"I swear I'm not a slut! I hate this, I don't like it at all!" I saw sincerity in her light green eyes as she tried to explain herself, probably more to me than my girlfriend.

"We know." She looked to me in shock and she had good reason to be surprised at my sudden faith in her character.

"I thought you hated me." I felt guilty at the assumption, but it was well placed.

"No, Kitty helped me realize how good of a friend you really are and I'm sorry for treating you the way I did, I was just worried for Kitty's well being and didn't even consider yours." She looked down at me since she had a good few inches on me in her heels and smiled brightly.

"Let's start over. I'm Buttercup Utonium and I SWEAR I'm not an actual stripper." I laughed at her and reintroduced myself.

"Nice to meet you Buttercup, I'm Bradley Phoenix and I SWEAR I'm not really that big of an asshole." Buttercup, Kitty, and I were all laughing until a guy came up and hugged Buttercup from behind and kissed the side of her head.

"You scared me, I turned around and you were gone." She turned to face him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips while they held hands in the space between them.

"Kit and Bradley are here and they pulled me over here. We didn't mean to worry you." I was confused by the exchange because last time I checked, they had just met and weren't a thing.

"Wait, didn't you guys just meet like two days ago?" They both started laughing and Buttercup was the first to recover.

"Brad, we've known eachother since we were five! That's thirteen years. We just hated each other for a lot of them because he used to be a villain." That was news to me, I wouldn't have pegged him for a villain…

"So are you guys a thing?" My girlfriend sounded so excited that I hoped they were dating.

"She told me after tonight she would be my girlfriend because she doesn't want to start our relationship by cheating on me." She really did have a really good character and I berated myself mentally for ever doubting it. Kit gave me a look that screamed 'I told you so' and all I could do was nod in defeat.

"That's great! Now we can go on double dates!" Buttercup's face paled and I decided to help her out a little bit.

"Why don't we let them go on some personal dates before we get into all this double date stuff." She looked towards me with understanding eyes.

"You're right, maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself…" Buttercup mouthed me a 'THANK YOU' while Kitty was facing away from her. She was a good friend for Kitty.

Buttercup's POV

After Kit and Bradley left, I walked to the bar with Butch and sat on the end seat so that nobody could sit beside me. "You didn't have to… you know… with the old guy?" I cringed at the memory.

"No, time was up before it got that far." He looked relieved, but he couldn't have been as relieved as I was.

"How much time do you have left?" I checked a digital clock nearby and it read 9:55.

"About an hour, then I can get the fuck outta this shithole." He chuckled and wrapped an arm around me. We sat like that for a while until an announcement was made from the stage.

"All entertainers, please come to the stage, we have a dispute to settle that can only be settled by audience opinion." I looked up on stage to see all the regular strippers on stage glaring at me.

They must've already performed… I walked to the stage. "What is this? The manager never told me about this." A tall blonde, who I assumed was the ring leader, stared down at me in an attempt to look intimidating.

"THIS, is something to put YOU in your place." She turned to the audience and raised the microphone to her mouth. "Hello everyone, we just have a quick survey, then a little competition." Everyone seemed pretty excited, but I didn't know why.

"Yeah, the manager DEFINITELY said nothing about this." She glared over at me and clicked a button, causing a screen to come down.

"Now, everyone, pull out your phones and get into Kahoot." Ok, that did it, this chick was batshit crazy.

"WHO MAKES A FUCKING KAHOOT FOR A STRIP CLUB?!" I didn't mean to yell it as loud as I did, but apparently plenty of people heard it since I got a good amount of laughs from the comment. The blonde bitch glared at me and cleared her throat.

"As I was saying. The screen up here will show the code and the questions will all be opinion based, so there are no wrong answers. There are four strippers here tonight, so we made a Kahoot to see which one is the best." She clicked the button again and the Kahoot code came up and the annoying music just started playing.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" I rolled my eyes hard and groaned loudly. "AT LEAST GET BETTER MUSIC!" I yelled to the self proclaimed alpha hoe, only to receive more laughs from the audience and an angrier glare from her.

"Listen brat, you don't really work here, so just fucking go with it." I rolled my eyes at her and leaned against the pole in the middle of the stage. "Is everyone in?" She waited for a few seconds for protests and started it when she heard none. "I'll go through names so you guys aren't confused. I'm Rachel." She passed the mic to the next girl, a ginger who was also taller than me.

"I'm Emily." She gave the mic to the girl next to me who had light brown hair and was only slightly taller than me.

"I'm Lauren." She shoved the mic in my direction. I gladly took it.

"My name's Buttercup and I have no clue why this is happening." I earned a few laughs from the customers, but my 'coworkers' weren't amused. Rachel snatched back the mic and began to speak again.

"Now that you know our names, you can answer the questions. We are starting…. now." She clicked a button on a remote and the first question popped up.

'Who is the most fuckable?' Well this is different from any damn Kahoot I've ever played. Within seconds, all the votes were in and the results popped up on the screen. Rachel had gotten twenty six votes, Emily got fifteen, Lauren got eighteen, and I got thirty seven, making me the winner… I think.

"Any words, Buttercup? How does it feel to be the most fuckable." She spat out every word and shoved the microphone in my face.

"Not gonna lie, I'm not sure if it's a compliment or an insult, but considering I'm in a fucking strip club, I'll assume it's a compliment?" I earned a few laughs, but Rachel didn't find it funny at all.

"Whatever. Next question." She clicked the button and the next question popped up in the screen.

'Who is the best on a pole?'

This one took a little longer, but eventually the votes were in. If I said at the beginning of the day that I expected this, I would be a liar. This was actually the weirdest shit I've ever sat through. Rachel had thirty five votes, Emily had ten, Lauren had sixteen and I had thirty six, beating Rachel by one voter. She stormed over to me, stomping the whole way.

"Careful, you might break a heel." She snarled at me hatefully and I could've sworn her eyes turned red.

"How does it feel to be the best pole dancer in a strip club at eighteen you slut." I actually laughed as she thrust the mic towards me.

"See here's the thing, I don't identify as a slut because I honestly learned from YouTube this morning and I have my witness here tonight. But tell me Rachel, how does it feel to be thirty and experienced and STILL get beaten out by an eighteen year old guest star?" People laughed and her face flushed in humiliation. The blonde growled at me and stormed back to her spot, far away from me.

"Ok. Next question." She violently clicked the button and yet another pointless question showed up on the screen.

'Who has the most personality?'

Votes were in in a literal second. Rachel got two votes, Emily got six, Lauren got one, and I got eighty five, something that really set Rachel off. This time she didn't even ask a question, she just grew the mic at me.

"Talk." She then stormed back to her spot and gave me the button thing.

"Ok well first off, it looks like I'm your new host, and hopefully my personality can make this a little less weird than this already is." I got a few cheers and I could hear Rachel huff loudly. "Get ready for question number four!" I clicked the button that I saw Rachel click before and the next question came on the screen.

'Who would you take home to your parents?' What the fuck?

"Ok, I don't know about you guys, but I think it'd be a little awkward to bring home any stripper to meet the parents… Even if I kinda am one tonight." I got a few laughs and groans from the other three strippers behind me, but I didn't care about them. I looked up at the votes and announced them.

"Ok, so Rachel came in fourth with… zero votes. It's ok Rachel, I've only heard bad things about in laws anyways. Emily came in second with… six votes. Ok, not bad. Lauren came in third place with a total of two votes, and I came in first with… holy shit, apparently I have eighty six pairs of parents to meet!" I got quite the laugh from the people in the audience. "So I've never been a host on any show before so please tell me, how am I doing here?" Many people cheered and whistled and it was safe to say I was doing at least a better job than Rachel.

"Ok cool, so onto the FINAL question!" I clicked the button and the last question popped up.

'Who is the hottest?' Yeah, I was so glad this was the last question. The votes were finally in and I began to announce the results.

"Okay! So who's glad that this is just about over?" I heard plenty of screams. "Yeah me too. So I'm not gonna announce the placing because with this question it would kinda feel like rubbing it in…" Rachel had ended up coming in third, Emily in fourth, Lauren in second, and me in first. My sisters and I were made to be the perfect little girls, what did they expect? I fumbled around for the button that turned off the Kahoot and the screen and turned back on the normal music.

"Yeah so that was really awkward and had absolutely no point, so how about we get back to whatever we were doing before this?" I turned off the mic and tossed it to Rachel without sparing her a glance. I hopped off stage and talked to a few guys who were surprisingly good company.

"Hey sugar, wanna dance?" The guy looked a little older than Butch, but I could put up with it. I only had to dance with him, something I enjoyed doing anyways. I was honestly grateful that the guy kept his hands on my hips and didn't let them travel to more innapropriate areas, but someone yanked me away from him after a few minutes.

"Look babe, I can't leave tonight without getting a piece of you. I got fifty bucks that I have no problem blowing on you." I nodded reluctantly and led him to my private room. This really sucked, I thought I was going to make it through the night without having to do this.

After thirty minutes with the guy, he seemed VERY satisfied and I had to act like I was at least somewhat pleased by the guy even though I wanted to run to Butch and cry. I walked out and found him near the bar, where I also saw that my shift was over. I gently grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the dressing room. We silently made our way to the back and I was met with the manager.

"I am SO sorry about that stunt that Rachel pulled… I had no idea it was going to happen, and I'm very upset about it. Thank you for trying to make that a little less awkward than it was and thank you for coming tonight, you did great." I nodded my head in thanks and walked Butch into my dressing room so I could change and leave. We didn't say a word until we got in the car.

"B, you ok?" He put his hand over mine and I lost it. I was embarrassed of it, but I started crying like a fucking bitch. His face looked panicked and he pulled me over to his side of the car to sit on his lap. He hugged me close and kissed my temple.

"Let it out babe, it'll be ok… it's over now, you don't have to do that anymore." I hugged him tight and sobbed into his shoulder, letting out all my pent up emotions all at once. He rubbed my back in a soothing way and kissed my head every once in a while, letting me know that it was over, but I knew it wasn't because HIM still had forty challenges for me and they could all very well be worse.

"B-Butch, I-I had to…. I h-had to have s-sex with a-anot-another guy! I'm s-so sorr-y!" I continued to cry into his shoulder from the guilt I felt, because even though we weren't technically dating, it still felt like cheating and I felt like a fucking whore.

"It's ok B, I know you didn't want to, it's ok, I promise. I'm here for you." He tilted my head up so I was looking at him and he kissed me gently. I kissed him back passionately, I really did love him, there wasn't any doubt.

"I'll drive us home now, I'm good. Sorry about that…" He smiled lovingly at me and helped me back to the driver's seat.

"Don't be sorry, I'm here for you. And you promised you'd be my girlfriend now, so I'm gonna be around for a while if you'll have me." I giggled and started the car.

"I guess I'll let you stick around…" He laughed loudly.

"There's my girl! Let's get back to your house." I got out of there as fast as humanly possible and drove to my house, where my two sisters were standing at the door. Fuckkk.

Blossom's POV

Bubbles and I waited at the door since we knew Buttercup's shift ended fifteen minutes ago and she would be home any second. We definitely needed a looonng sister talk.

As expected, it wasn't long before our sister's car pulled into the driveway and she hopped out. What surprised us, however, was when Butch got out of the car with her. Even when she turned around, she was looking at the ground as if trying to avoid looking at us. She didn't move until Butch walked up beside her and took her hand in his, that part, however, didn't surprise me considering how I saw them this morning. She seemed hesitant to walk over to us, but he whispered something to her that made her look up at us.

Bubbles and I flinched when we caught a glimpse of her tear stained face, she NEVER cries! Our early anger soon turned to concern for her wellbeing. We ran over to the two and got a closer look at our sister who looked uncharacteristically defeated.

"Oh my god, Buttercup are you ok?" She nodded, but I could tell she wasn't since she's usually a lot more vocal.

"No you aren't, what happened?" Bubbles could also see through her lie, it wasn't hard.

"Really, I'm fine." Her voice betrayed her though and cracked on the last word. "fuck!" She whispered to herself because she knew that she was caught.

"C'mon, we're sisters! You can tell us what happened! We already know where you were tonight." She looked down in shame.

"Sorry I didn't tell you guys, I just found out this morning myself… And it's fucking degrading Bloss! There's a lot of creepy old guys and one was as old as the professor! That's fucking gross! The only good thing is that I got like two thousand dollars, but I hate what I had to do to get it!" I felt sorry for her. She genuinely hated doing what she did, but in that case, why did she do it? I knew a little embarrassment wouldn't cause her to cry, however and realized that something worse had to have happened.

"You didn't have to…. you know… right?" She narrowed her eyes and looked away from me.

"I don't wanna talk about it." With that she pushed past both Bubbles and I and ran into the house. We both turned a questioning gaze to Butch, maybe he could clear some stuff up.

"Butch? Is she gonna be ok?" Bubbles was always looking out for the wellbeing of others. He tore his eyes from the door and looked at us.

"She was pretty shaken up… She was pretty bad right after her shift, but she's strong, she'll get through it, or at least I hope so… I hate seeing her like that." Both Bubbles and I nodded in agreement.

"What happened to make her like that?" His lip curled up and pulled an angry face, though not directed at either of us.

"This fucking old creep made her give him a private show and he was allowed to touch her however he wanted to. She was pretty shaken up from that, but apparently later on some other guy who was a little older than me made her have sex with him. After that her shift was over and she was a complete mess. I was honestly impressed that she held it all in until we got to the car. I wanted to kill both of those fucking creeps…" I felt awful for my younger sister, she was always the tough one, but everyone had their limits. Plus, last time I checked, she hadn't had sex before…

"She hadn't done that before… It might surprise you, but she wanted to save herself for marriage…" Bubbles sounded heartbroken for our other sister. Butch looked down in guilt and walked towards the door.

"I'm gonna go check on her…" we both nodded and walked back inside, what was going on with Buttercup?

Professor's POV

HIM crossed the line, he had cameras all throughout the club, even in the private rooms and the dressing rooms.

"So, how does it feel to watch your little slut fuck two different guys in the same night?" I wanted to choke the bastard for talking about her like that. She wouldn't have done that at all if my life wasn't at stake.

"You fucking bastard! You can't do this to her!" He gave me his signature devilish grin.

"Actually, I can! And I did! You're PERFECT little girl is no longer pure!" He began to laugh evilly and I wanted so bad to strangle him.

"Can I at least see her tomorrow?" He looked thoughtful.

"Sure thing! I'll just send her a letter tomorrow that tells her to come here tomorrow to get her next challenge. Can you believe she's already one fifth of the way through? I'm impressed that she isn't dead yet…" I growled at him but was also glad to be able to see her. I would just have to wait until tomorrow…

AN: So that was a long chapter. Sorry for the wait and sorry if I didn't get a few things right since I'm not really familiar with what happens in a strip club :/ Hope you liked the chapter and hopefully I can update the next one a little quicker than I did this one. Please review!


	11. Challenge 10

AN: Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 10: Challenge 10

Professor's POV

HIM woke me up the next morning and I was still in the same chair.

"Well, well professor, why don't we start thinking of some challenges for today? I was thinking of having her do something dangerous today. What do you think?" I thrashed in my chair as I watched him write down the challenge for the day.

"Stop! You're going to kill her!" I tried to get out of the chair and shred the paper, but the ropes were tied too tight.

"Oh wonderful! That is the plan after all." I mentally killed the demon multiple times in many different ways, only if I could actually do it…

"It's her job to beat you! Stop being a sore loser and give her a break! You can't do this to her just for beating you up a few times! It's not like she was bullying you, you pretty much asked for every punch!" He snarled at me and held a claw to my throat. "And if you kill me, she doesn't have to do any of this shit you're making her do! Plus, she'll kill you! I promise." He pulled his claw away and turned his back to me.

"She'll be here any minute." He stormed out of the room and left me alone. I couldn't wait to see her.

Buttercup's POV

I woke up with a strong arm wrapped around my waist. I liked the feeling of having someone near me, it was… comforting. I snuggled further into Butch and hugged his arm. I heard a tired groan and felt him pull me closer.

"Goodmorning sunshine, how do you feel today?" I rested my head on his neck and answered him.

"Comfortable." He chuckled and I could feel the vibration of his voice. We just laid with each other for a moment before Bubbles busted in the room and squealed like a fangirl.

"Can I get ANY privacy in this house?" My sister, however, ignored me and took a few pictures.

"You guys are soooo CUTE!" I groaned and got up to push her out of my room, but Butch pulled me back towards him. I gave him a confused look and he returned it with a childish one.

"I'm cold." I started to smile, but a loud squeak from the door wiped it right off my face.

"Get another blanket." I turned my attention to Bubbles. "Bubbles get out." She pouted and left closing the door behind her. Once I was sure she was gone, I walked over to my dresser and grabbed the new red note, then walked back to my bed and sat next to where my new boyfriend was laying.

"What does it say B?" He sat up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder so that he could read the challenge. I didn't know what I was expecting exactly, but it wasn't what was written on the paper.

"Dear Buttercup. Your father requested a visit from you so you will get your Challenge in my lair after visiting hours are over. I don't suggest bringing your boyfriend, the old man didn't particularly like what happened in the dressing room last night. Come as soon as possible."

All color drained from my face as I realized the professor had seen everything that happened last night. Butch realized this and kissed my neck, bringing color back to my complexion.

"We should go as soon as possible." Butch obviously skipped over the last part.

"Babe he literally said NOT to bring you!" He pulled me into his chest and kissed the top of my head.

"He said he doesn't suggest it because your father wouldn't be happy. I feel like I should definitely meet your dad though and now's a great time." I thought on it, but eventually I agreed.

"Okay Butch, but be on your best behavior around him and dress kinda nice." He nodded and smiled.

"I'll meet you back here in twenty minutes, I'm going to get ready now." I was about to respond, but before I could, he flew off to get ready.

Butch's POV

I flew out of her window and towards my house, I HAD to make a good first impression. He already probably had me on his shit list, so I couldn't mess up. I flew into my house, ignoring my brothers' questions.

I got to my room and hopped into the shower, only taking five minutes to shower and shave since I shaved in the shower to save time. I hopped out and dried off, using the next five minutes to style my hair and brush my teeth.

After making sure I smelled great, I looked desperately through my closet for nice clothes but found none. "Fuck, she's gonna kill me!"

Just when I thought it was all over, Boomer walked in my room looking confused. Perfect!

"Boomer! I need a nice outfit to make a first impression in! Help me!" His eyes lit up and he ran into his room, returning with a blue/green button up shirt, a pair of white jeans, a brown belt, and brown dress shoes.

"This will work great!" I gave my younger brother a smile and took the clothes.

"Thanks Boom, I owe ya!" I urged him out so I could change and threw on the clothes, rolling the sleeves of the shirt up so that they stopped above my elbows. I gave myself a once over in the mirror and once approving of myself, flew back to Buttercup's house.

I saw her sitting on the front steps fiddling with her keys. To my surprise, she was wearing a flowy black skirt, a brown belt and a mint green button up shirt tucked in with the sleeves rolled up and two buttons undone at the top. Her hair flowed over her shoulders in loose curls and she sported a pair of black six inch pumps.

I flew down so that I was standing in front of her and she looked up at me.

"You look nice. Ready to go?" She smiled at me and stood up, taking my hands in hers.

"Yup, let's go!" We got in her car and drove off towards HIM's lair.

"Butch, please be on your best behavior, my dad's probably a little upset about last night still." I looked over to her and realized how professional she looked.

"I understand why I had to dress up, but why did you have to? You look so professional…" Her grip tightened on the wheel and I wondered if I hit a sore spot.

"I'm scared he's going to think less of me so I dressed how Blossom would. He's always been the most proud of her…" I almost felt bad for asking after hearing her answer.

"Buttercup, he has no reason to not be proud of you! You're literally putting your life at risk to save him!" I stared at her profile and saw her jaw clench.

"Look, let's just drop it." I nodded and didn't say a word for the remainder of the drive.

It wasn't long before we made it to HIM's lair. She got out of the car without a word and walked in. I jumped out and ran after her.

"Buttercup! I'm sorry if I offended you, but I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to dress like your sister for your dad to be proud of you!" She stopped and turned to face me with a sad smile on her face.

"Thanks Butch, but it's too late to change now." We both laughed a little and walked in together.

"For what it counts, I think you look better in that outfit than Blossom anyways." She smiled brightly and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You're the best! Now be cool, my dad's in the next room." I nodded and straightened my posture before walking into the room behind her.

Professor's POV

My attention snapped to the door as it opened and I felt the happiest I had in awhile when I saw my daughter walk in the room.

"Hey dad, I brought someone with me. I hope that's ok." She looked at me but never met my eyes, something she had always done when she thought I was mad at her.

"Um, that's fine. Who did you bring sweetie?" I decided to let her make eye contact in her own time.

"Uhh… My new boyfriend, I think you've met before." A tall, tan, and well built man stepped into the room and I immediately noticed that he attempted to dress nice. He had spiked up black hair and forest green eyes. Yes, I knew this boy. This was Butch Jojo, one of HIM and Mojo's three sons.

"Nice to meet you sir, I'm Butch Jojo." I analyzed him with a critical eye, watching closely for any wrong moves, any bad intentions. That was when I realized this was the same guy from the dressing room.

"Ah yes. Butch Jojo. I saw you just yesterday." Buttercup wasn't dumb, she knows that I saw everything about last night. Her eyes widened and her face flushed pink.

"Dad, I swear we had a good reason! I'm sorry!" I meant my words to put Butch in hot water, but it completely backfired as Buttercup thought I was upset with her.

"I know you did. I'm just a father trying to give the boyfriend a hard time. No matter how hard it is for me to say this, I actually want to thank you Butch. Not only for making her first time special, but for not letting her lose it to a stranger." My middle daughter flushed bright red and I laughed at the poor girl.

"Dad! This is so weird!" Butch started to laugh with me as Buttercup only got more flustered.

"Buttercup, I'm not mad at you. How could I be?" She finally meets my eyes and flashes me one of her beautiful smiles I rarely get to see.

"You aren't?" I returned her smile.

"Of course not! You're doing all of these ridiculous challenges to save my life!" She walked over and wrapped her arms around me. My chest warmed at the feeling since it was rare for her to show such affection towards me.

"I love you dad." I wanted to hug her back, but my hands were tied up, so I just relished in the feeling that I may never get again.

"I love you too, Buttercup. And by the way, you don't need to dress like Blossom for me to be proud of you." She pulled back and looked surprised that I could read her so easily.

"B-but, how d-did you know?" I smiled to her as I answered her question.

"Buttercup, you aren't that hard to figure out. Plus, while you look great in the outfit, I know it's not your style." Her lost look from before disappeared and was replaced with a small smile and a blush.

"Oh…" I was about to say something else when our favorite demon waltzed into the room.

"Oh Buttercup! I'm so glad to see that you made it!" His voice sounded overly cheery and I could tell it was grating on my aggressive daughter's nerves. "Butch, always a pleasure." He took on a demonic growl and both Buttercup and I flinched.

"HIM, you need to stop. You're going too far." I was surprised that Butch stood up to one of his parents.

"Actually, I just came in to give my little toy her next challenge."

Buttercup's POV

He did not just call me a toy! "I'm not a fucking toy!" I honestly forgot that my dad was in the room in my anger.

"Really? You have to do whatever I want you to and I'm having fun with it. It sounds like you're a toy my dear." My vision went more red with each word that came from him. I didn't even care that I didn't have powers when I lunged at him. I guess he didn't expect me to be as bold as I was because I landed a hard punch to his jaw, probably dislocating it.

His laughter cut off the second my punch landed and the room went silent. "I'm not a toy, I was never a toy, and I won't ever be a toy! Don't think I'm just going to sit around and let you talk to me like that! Our deal was that I had to complete your challenges without my powers and that's what I'm doing! Now cut the talk and just give me the fucking challenge!"

HIM stared at me with a blank look as if he honestly didn't know how to respond to what I just did. "Well?" I tried to snap him out of it, but he didn't respond.

"Buttercup, get away from him." I turned around to face Butch and saw a cautious look on his face.

"Butch he's not even moving!" Suddenly his eyes widened.

"Buttercup move!" I felt the air move near me and turned around just in time to catch an open claw that was going for my neck. Butch flew over and pushed him into the wall, then pulled me close to him.

"Butch, you will pay for that! You too Buttercup! Don't forget who writes your challenges!" I sent the demon a death glare that he eagerly returned.

"Just give me my challenge. And let the professor walk around a little, it's unhealthy to sit that long." HIM looked from me to Butch and snarled in defeat. He stood up and shoved a red paper in my hands, then untied the professor.

"Don't try anything funny, I'm watching." He disappeared into a puff of red smoke.

I turned to the professor and greeted him with a tight hug.

"How are you dad?" He pulled away and chuckled.

"Buttercup, I should be asking you that!" I giggled lightly at his exasperation.

"I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind.

"B, tell him the truth, he deserves to know…" I mentally slapped my boyfriend and dropped my happy facade.

"Fine! I'm awful and everyone who isn't a horny guy or my family wants me dead! I don't have my powers, which sucks! I don't have a dad to cry to, which also sucks! And worst of all, I don't even have my virginity anymore, and it fucking sucks!" At that point I couldn't hold in the tears and they started to fall down my cheeks. I was wiping my wet face in frustration that I was showing weakness in the house of the enemy. I looked down to hide the fact that I was crying, that I was weak.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to meet the professor's concerned eyes. "Buttercup, I'm so sorry… Don't be ashamed to cry sweetheart." He pulled me into a hug and I eagerly returned it, sobbing into his shoulder while I could.

"D-dad I'm sorry f-or di-disappointing you! I kn-know you said you a-aren't, but I'm sc-scared that you secretly are!" He pulled me away from him so that I was looking into his dark brown eyes.

"Buttercup. Look in my eyes as I say this: I'm not going to be disappointed in you for anything you do in any of these challenges. Once I get out of here, I'll help you clear your name. I love you so much and I'm so proud of you. Never forget that." I wiped the tears from my face and offered a small smile.

"Thanks dad, I love you too." I turned my attention towards the red paper in my hand. "Now let's find out what I'm doing today." I caught the professor glaring off to the side as I looked at the challenge.

"I already know what it is. It's a tough one, but if anyone can pull it off, it's you." He only said that in really dangerous situations! I quickly looked back down to the challenge and read the letter.

"Oh hello dear! So nice to write to you again considering this could very well be the last letter. I'm not cutting your challenges short, it's just very likely that you'll die in this challenge. Fighting was never a problem for you when you had your powers. Even as a human, I'm sure you can fight well, but let's see how you hold up when I throw you in a pit with an angry lion. This might be easy for you if you had a weapon, but you'll be getting none of those. Your challenge is to stay in the pit with the lion for and hour. Be back at my lair in an hour. Just one last warning: He hasn't eaten since yesterday." I honestly didn't even know what to say.

"You can do it, B. You're tough and smart, even without your powers." Butch whispered in my ear as he hugged me from behind and kissed my cheek. I looked at the professor and while he looked upset with the situation, he also had an air of confidence.

"Like I said before, if anyone can pull it off, it's you. Go home and get changed, it'd be hard to fight in that. You have an hour to get back here, I'll see you soon." I nodded in agreement and turned to Butch.

"Stay here with my dad. I need to talk to a few people too." He looked nervous, but willing to do what I told him.

"Ok babe, but make sure you're back in an hour." I nodded and ran out the door.

I jumped in my car and drove back home to get changed and talk to my sisters. I hated thinking about it, but if I die tonight, I at least want to say something to them.

I walked inside and saw both of my sisters watching a movie together on the couch.

"Hey Buttercup! Wanna watch it with us?" I smiled at Bubbles and politely declined.

"I would love to, but I need to be somewhere and I'm kinda in a rush." She smiled at me and nodded in understanding.

I took off my heels and ran upstairs to find a change of clothes. I pulled out a pair of black spandex and a tight, sage green tank top. I've seen too many fights where loose clothes were used against someone. I threw on an old pair of sneakers and pulled my hair into a high ponytail.

I ran back downstairs and hugged my two sisters from behind. "I love you guys so much, never forget that." I kissed both of them on the cheek and ran out to my car. I put the car in drive and sped towards Kit's house.

Upon arrival, I saw Bradley's car, meaning he was there too. I knocked on the door and luckily Kit answered it.

"Buttercup?" I immediately pulled her into a tight hug.

"You're the best friend I ever had. Thanks for always being there for me even when I'm doing a bunch of crazy shit." She pulled from the hug and shot me a concerned look.

"Why are you saying this?" I did my best to smile.

"I just thought you should know how much I appreciate you always being there for me… I wasn't sure if you knew and I figured I should let you know." She suddenly started to cry and I had no clue of why.

"Wh-why does this f-eel like good-goodbye? What's wr-wrong? I c-can help you!" I immediately caught onto what she was thinking.

"Kit! I'm not gonna kill myself! I just wanted to let you know that you're appreciated!" I started wiping tears from her face as they fell from her eyes.

"D-do you promise?" I smiled honestly and nodded.

"I promise I am not going to kill myself. Now smile Kit, it's a better look for ya." Her pout turned up into a smile as she laughed lightly.

"For the record, you're my best friend too Buttercup." I smiled brightly and hugged her again. This time she returned it.

"Maybe we can do something tomorrow." I could feel her smile into my shoulder and nod.

"Yeah, just the two of us!" I pulled away from Kit and nodded.

"Of course! I need to go now though so maybe I'll see you tomorrow!" She nodded and waved to me.

"See you tomorrow!" With that I turned and walked to my car, then drove back to HIM's lair.

Upon arriving, I waited in the car for a little while, not quite ready to take on a hungry lion. I pulled out my phone and saw multiple texts from my sisters.

'Buttercup, what are you doing? Where are you? When are you coming home?' That was Blossom, always wanting all the facts.

'I never got to tell you that I love you too before you ran out. Not gonna lie, I'm kinda worried about your well being right now, so please lmk what you're doing.' Bubbles was always sweet and loving. I felt kinda bad for leaving them both on open.

I left my phone on my car seat and walked into the room with Butch and the professor. "I'm ready to go. Wish me luck." I gave both a hug and a kiss on the cheek before walking into the next room where the conniving red demon himself was waiting.

"Good to see you back, dear! I hope my furry friend doesn't mess your pretty little face up too badly. You can just walk down those stairs and there should be a gate to an arena. Once you're in, I'll release your opponent. Good luck." I shuttered at the thought of being eaten alive by a lion, but I only had to last for an hour and if I did, both the professor and I would be able to live. I could do this.

I held my head up as I walked down the stairs. I came upon the gate and flung it open, strutting into the area. It honestly looked just like the Roman colosseum and I felt like a gladiator. I looked around the stands and was surprised to see most of Townsville. I looked down and realized that my clothes transformed into gladiator attire: A tight brown leather dress, gladiator sandals that came right below my knees, and a leather headband that went across my forehead to match the dress.

I almost brushed it off as an illusion until I saw a dark green streak fly through the top and land in the front row as Butch.

"Buttercup! I'm here, you'll be fine I swear! I'll be right here the whole time!" I looked around and started spotting people I knew.

Mitch was sitting in the third row with Robin sitting next to him, Harry was a few rows back with his family, Mike sat in the middle, Mary was seated on the other side of the colosseum with Jillian, and even Ms. Keane was there, sitting by two young kids. I snapped back to reality when I heard a bunch of screams and barely had enough time to dodge a pouncing lion.

"Holy shit!" I continued to avoid the lion, already on the defensive. The lion roared loudly and ran right at me. I was smart enough to know that I wasn't fast enough to outrun it as a human, so I needed to have a strategy to survive this. I stood in place and as soon as he reared up on his back legs, I slid underneath of it and kicked him in the stomach. I quickly rolled out from under the beast, but he wasn't about to give up.

He quickly turned and pinned me to the ground by my shoulders. His claws dug into my skin and he moved his head down, probably to eat me alive.

"Buttercup! Do something!" I could hear the fear in Butch's voice as he watched the fight. When the lion's face got close enough, I brought my knee to his jaw and kicked one of his teeth out when he roared out. The vicious animal reared back in pain, giving me the opportunity to escape the lion's paws. I grabbed the tooth that I knocked out and created distance.

I locked eyes with the big cat and we engaged in some kind of staredown. I could feel the blood running down my shoulders and felt a surge of adrenaline rush through my veins. I touched my wounds on each shoulder and smeared the blood on my face like war paint.

"Bring it on Simba!" With that, it sprinted right at me in a blind rage. I dove to the side as he got too close, causing him to run into the wall. While he was in his daze, I jumped on his back and gripped his mane. He recovered quickly and tried flipped on his back, something I didn't anticipate.

I felt the weight of the large animal crash on top of me and felt a few ribs crack. I winced at the pain, but used his weight to my advantage and stabbed him with the tooth I kicked out earlier. The lion roared out and rolled off of me, taking my makeshift weapon with him.

I tried to get up, but before I could, I felt his teeth sink into my arm and I screamed as he flung me around by my arm. As soon as he stopped flailing, I took my opportunity to kick him hard in the nose so that he would release me. He opened his mouth to roar and I took that time to remove my now useless arm from his jaws. I looked up only in time to see a claw coming for my face, but my reflexes kicked in and I ducked the blow, grabbed his leg and snapped it with a well placed kick.

I looked down at my throbbing arm and wanted to scream when I saw the bone jutting out from the mutilated limb. It was bleeding badly and barely recognizable. I bit my tongue until it started to bleed so I wouldn't scream.

"Buttercup look out!" I heard Butch's voice and noticed the lion snapping at me. I dived out of the way just in time and jabbed the bone from my broken arm into the side of his neck. Both of us screeched from the pain and I quickly pulled my arm away. I had a moment of rest as my opponent recovered from my previous attack.

My attention was soon diverted from the fight however, when I saw a pink and blue streak land beside Butch with both Kit and Bradley with them.

"Buttercup! Get out of there right now!" My older sister demanded, but she didn't understand that I couldn't just leave.

"Kinda busy Bloss! I can't just leave!" I heard Bubbles shriek and my attention immediately snapped to her.

"Buttercup! Behind you!" I didn't bother looking and just sent a roundhouse kick to the side of the lion's face. Unfortunately for me, he didn't seem too phased by the attack. He didn't waste time as he slashed his claws at me, connecting with the side of my face. I screamed as I felt his claws tear into my skin. I heard everyone in the crowd gasp as I fell to the ground and held my face in agony. I could feel the three claw marks and in a way, I was lucky. One crossed my forehead, the second one went from my ear to my chin, and the other travelled from my neck to the middle of my chest, missing any big arteries that would've gotten me killed.

The lion went in for another swipe at my face, but I blocked it with my good arm, cutting me almost to the bone. I let myself scream again and kicked the lion hard in the chest. He froze for a moment and I jumped on his back to grab the tooth from earlier. He tried to flip over on me again, but I jumped off of him this time. His underside was exposed and I used the tooth to cut him deeply from his chest to his stomach. He flailed around and stood up, but I needed to end this and quick. The blood from my forehead had run into my left eye and I couldn't see anything from it.

I ran towards the beast and thrusted the tooth into his throat. He froze on the spot and dropped to the ground trying to catch his breath. The crowd cheered loudly that I had beaten the lion and I felt pretty cocky since HIM was so sure that I was going to fail this challenge. I looked over to Butch, my sisters, Kit, and Bradley and saw concerned, yet relieved looks on their faces. I walked towards the exit to finish my challenge, but realized that the gate was still locked and had a timer with twenty minutes left.

"Fuck. I haven't been in here for an hour…" As my adrenaline started to fade, all the pain I was feeling crashed onto me at once. I dropped to the ground and clutched my mutilated arm tightly and bit my already bleeding tongue to hold in a scream. I could hardly hear the concerned calls from my family as I laid on the ground bleeding.

"You only have twenty minutes left B! The lion isn't even alive anymore! You're going to be fine babe, just hang on for a little bit!" I picked out Butch's voice and tried to concentrate on that instead of the agonizing pain I was going through.

"Bubbles, we need to call a hospital stat! Do you have your phone on you?" Blossom actually sounded stressed, something that was rare since she was typically the level headed one.

"Yeah, I'll call now!" Bubbles sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"Oh my god! This is why she came over to my place earlier! Please say she's going to be ok!" I heard Kit scream in a shaky voice.

"Why does she have to wait twenty minutes?" I was surprised when Bradley showed any concern at all.

"The Challenge was to survive for an hour. She only has fifteen minutes left now, then we can help her." Butch answered again, but everything started to sound quieter.

"What challenge?" I could barely manage to hear Kit jump into the conversation.

"I c-" Everything went silent and I blacked out.

Butch's POV

"I can't say too much about it or else we'll get in a lot of trouble. Forget I said anything." Kit looked at me impatiently and got an angry look on her face.

"Look, she's important to us too! Just tell us what's going on!" I mentally beat the shit outta myself for saying anything at all.

"All I can tell you is that this is part of a challenge that she's in and nobody else except me and my brothers can know the details of it aside from her." I sighed in relief when she seemed to drop the topic. I looked back to Buttercup and my heart dropped at the sight. She wasn't struggling like she was before, she was lying in a puddle of her own blood without moving. The only comfort I had was the almost unnoticeable rise and fall of her back. I couldn't decide between being glad that she wasn't in pain or being horrified that she might not wake up.

"B! Wake up! You can't sleep right now!" I watched as her eyes fluttered open. She glanced up at us with a look of pure agony on her face. I looked to the clock to see only two more minutes.

Kitty's POV

I watched as my best friend struggled to stay awake in the arena. I buried my face into Bradley's shoulder and began to cry.

"Hey, baby, she's tough. She'll be okay, I promise." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"What if she's not okay? She's just lying there and we can't do anything to help her!" I turned my head lightly to watch Buttercup squirm in a puddle of blood. It was obvious that she was struggling not to cry.

I suddenly heard loud buzzing sound and realized that it was the timer. I jumped the arena wall and ran beside my best friend.

"Buttercup, they have paramedics all lined up outside of here and they'll be here to get you in just a second. You're going to be okay." The rest of the group joined me by her side while we waited for the paramedics.

"Oh my god, Buttercup we love you. Please hold on…" Blossom spoke for both herself and Bubbles since the youngest sister was sobbing and stroking her older sister's hair.

"Stay with us B, you're tough. You gotta make it through this babe." He leaned down and kissed her gently, even though she was too weak to kiss back. He wiped some of the blood from her eye. She looked around at all of us and tried to smile, but it only caused her to wince from the pain.

The paramedics finally burst through the entrance and we cleared the way so they could get to Buttercup. They gently picked her up, but you could see from her expression that it hurt like hell to be moved. I felt anger grow in my chest and shot a mean glare towards Butch.

"Who the fuck made her do this?" He flinched at my question since he probably didn't expect it.

"Look, I wish I could tell you, but if I did, she, someone else, and I would be killed. You can't tell anyone about this! Everyone is supposed to think that she's doing this on her free will. I'll probably get punished in some way just for saying this much." I gave him a weird look and deepened my glare.

"How would he know if you only told us?" He had an exasperated look to him that almost made me feel bad for interrogating him. Almost.

"He has eyes and ears everywhere! There's probably at least seven cameras and twenty microphones in this arena alone! I'm sure he's already rigged all of Townsville with cameras and microphones!" My eyes widened of the thought of being watched and listened to everywhere I go.

"That's illegal! Nobody can do that!" He shot me a frustrated glare and smacked the side of his face.

"So is forcing a girl to fight a fucking lion! He doesn't care if something's illegal! And don't bother calling the cops because he'll have no problem killing every single one of them and everyone involved in the challenge right after. I've already told you more than I should and I'm probably going to get killed for it!" I stood there in shock and Butch took the opportunity to fly out of the stadium. I looked to her sisters who looked horrified.

"Someone else is involved too… We need to find out what's going on for ourselves." Blossom looked determined and picked me up, flying towards the hospital.

"From what he said, could you possibly figure out who the challenge master is? I mean, he gave us a lot of clues…" I couldn't see her expression, but I imagined that it brightened up at the idea of helping somehow.

"You're right! Bubbles and I can put together some research on all the villains and maybe find out who's behind everything!" We landed at the hospital and ran in to see how Buttercup was holding up.

"We're here to see Buttercup Utonium." The lady at reception nodded and looked back down to her computer.

"She's in room 310. You can go in." We nodded our thanks and walked down the hallway until we saw her room number.

"Butch, I'm fine! Stop treating me like a baby!"

"Buttercup, they can't even set your arm because they can't even tell where everything is!"

"Well the bone is right here so that just shows how much they know!"

"B, you know that's not what they're talking about!"

"Well either way I'm still kickin'! I'm not going anywhere any time soon!"

"Buttercup, just let them help you…"

"I'm fine! I just needed a little time to lay down! I'm not even bleeding that much anymore!"

We thought that was probably a good time to walk in and give Butch some backup on the matter. She was too stubborn for her own good…

"Buttercup, you should really listen to him." Blossom spoke up as we entered the room. I looked up to catch a dangerous glare.

"Hey! Why are you glaring at me? I didn't say anything!" Her eyes only narrowed more.

"You were planning on it! I saw your mouth start to move! It's not like it would matter anyways, you guys can't change my mind. It'd be so much easier to just go home and jump in a pool of chemical X!" I looked her over and cringed at all of her injuries. There were several huge puncture wounds on her shoulders from being pinned down, three deep slash marks across her face and neck, and her arm was almost unrecognizable.

"How are you not screaming right now? You look awful!" I didn't even bother to act like I wasn't staring.

"Remind me to come to you when I need a self esteem boost. God Kit, if you came to cheer me up, you're doing a damn good job!" Even a newborn could've caught the sarcasm in her reply.

"Buttercup, I didn't mean it like that! It's just that everything looks so painful…" She laughed at me.

"Calm down, I'm not upset with you. I know I look like a hot mess! Now I just need to go to the bathroom." Butch helped her up and started to walk with her.

"I can handle going to the bathroom by myself." She winced as she jerked away from her boyfriend and walked out of the room alone.

"I'll follow her. I don't trust that she's just going to the bathroom." Blossom slipped out of the room, leaving Butch and me alone.

Blossom's POV

I stealthily followed my sister until I realized that I passed a bathroom. Just as I suspected, my stubborn sister was trying to escape. I turned back to where she was to see an empty hallway.

"Shoot! Where'd she go?" I whispered to myself and flew to the lobby, where I saw her walking through the doors that exited the hospital. How could the hospital staff just let her walk through the whole building without stopping her? It's not like she looked well enough to leave!

I flew out of the hospital and almost crashed into Bubbles, who was holding a scowling Buttercup. "Is this what you were looking for Blossom? I came across her walking back home." If I wasn't so upset with her right now, I would've laughed at the glare and childish pour on her face.

"I was fine!" I sent her a stern glare and she grumbled under her breath in response.

"You're not my fucking mom." I guess she forgot we had super hearing because I knew she didn't want me to hear that.

"Well maybe you _need_ a fucking mom! Now get the hell inside before I drag you in by that big mouth of yours!" I typically avoided cursing, but I was more than angry, I was absolutely livid. I didn't care that she was injured right now. She needed to find some self control and respect because I wasn't about to let her run around doing whatever the hell she pleases.

My sister's green eyes were wide in utter astonishment. I held my glare hoping to beat her in a battle of wills. To my utter surprise, she looked away, admitting defeat. I signaled for Bubbles to let her go, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, she made a break for it. I really should've seen this coming, but both of us were too shocked to move after her.

"Buttercup get back here!" I shot after her and as soon as she heard me flying, she ran onto a full bus. I cursed under my breath and followed the bus, signaling for them to stop. The driver's eyes lit up in recognition and stopped the bus. I flew through the doors and stomped straight over to where Buttercup was sitting.

"She's trying to hurt me! I'm just trying to go home!" My eyes widened in disbelief as my sister blatantly lied. I was met with the glares of all of the people on the bus.

"Leave her alone! She's hurt and trying to get home!"

"Why would you want to hurt your sister when she's already injured?"

"She's lying! I'm trying to bring her back to the hospital!" Buttercup's eyes held a mischief that only Bubbles and I could ever see.

"She's trying to send me to a hospital! That's what she always says before we fight! She's trying to sound nice, but she's going to hurt me!" I glared at my sister and I realized a little too late that I probably just helped her case. I almost gave up, but a mother took my side.

"This brat is nothing but trouble! She needs to be taught respect and maybe her sister can beat it into her!" I gasped at what the woman just said about Buttercup, that was awful!

"I'm not trying to hurt her-" A young male cut me off to protest the woman's statement.

"That's awful! You're probably just mad because your husband went to that strip club last night when she was there!" The woman gasped and clapped back at the teenage boy.

"You're probably only defending her because you're one of the many guys who have fucked the little slut!" I actually felt bad that she had to listen to people talk about her like this. I looked over to where my little sister was, but she wasn't there! I looked to the front of the bus and saw her running towards our house. That little sneak! I didn't even notice her leave the bus!

I flew out, ignoring the little dispute on the bus. I flew in the direction I saw her running in, but couldn't spot her in the crowd of people. It shouldn't be that hard to see her since she's in gladiator getup, but she was harder to find than Waldo. I flew as fast as I could to the house and decided to wait for her there. Not even two minutes later, I saw a figure in a light hoodie run up to the house.

From in a nearby tree, I watched as the figure lifted the welcome mat and unlocked the door. I gasped as I realized we were being robbed! As the hooded figure opened the door, I landed a hard punch on their back. The person slammed into the couch and screamed in pain.

I didn't hit them that hard! I flew over to the person and pulled the hood back only to reveal that it was my runaway sister. She threw me a watery glare as she held back tears from the pain I just caused her. I felt a hard kick to the stomach and I flew back into the wall. I sat up to see Buttercup running downstairs into the lab.

"Buttercup wait! Just let the hospital take care of you!" I didn't get a response so I followed her to the basement. When I get down the stairs I saw her in a Chemical X healing chamber.

"Buttercup, get out of there now! You don't have your powers, that's dangerous!" She glared at me and locked the door on the chamber.

"So you can bring me to the hospital? No fuckin' way! They don't know what they're doing, they wanted to cut my fucking arm off! That's what they do when they don't know what to do, just cut it off! I can't live without an arm Blossom, I can't go back there!" I flinched in surprise. I never knew that, why didn't she just say that in the first place?

"Buttercup. I understand that you're scared, but you're just a normal human right now and that could kill you." She put on a breather, held my stare, and defiantly pushed the button that filled the chamber. I watched in nervous anticipation as she disappeared in the black substance.

Butch's POV

It had been around an hour since Buttercup went to the bathroom and Blossom followed her. At this point I had a pretty good hunch that the only place she 'needed to go' was home.

"Come on Kitty. I think she made a break for it, let's head back to her house." The girl nodded and followed me out. We found Bubbles and Bradley waiting in the lobby, looking concerned.

"Blossom should've caught her by now…" Bubbles sounded on the verge of tears, but Bradley was quick to comfort her.

"It'll be fine. Your sister is tough enough to take care of herself even when she's injured. She was just going home anyways." We walked over to where the two were sitting.

"Wait, what happened Bubbles?" I was already picturing several different situations in my head.

"She ran out of the hospital and I caught her, but she tricked us so that when I put her down, she ran! Blossom shot after her, but Buttercup's a hard one to catch. I just hope Blossom finds her before she does anything stupid…" I had to hold back a laugh at the story. Two Powerpuff Girls having a hard time catching their human sister, now that was funny.

"Let's head back to your house and see if anyone's there." She nodded and picked up Bradley while I picked up Kitty. We shot off towards the Utonium household and stopped dead when we saw the door wide open.

"This doesn't look to good…" Bubbles whimpered out and put down Bradley. She slowly floated inside and saw that the lab door was open too. She motioned for us to follow her, so we did.

We all quietly walked down the stairs and saw Blossom sitting on the ground with her head in her hands.

"Um… Blossom? Is everything ok? Where's B?" I hesitantly asked the oldest Puff, scared that she would blow up if I asked the wrong question. She turned her head to face us and she looked scared and stressed out.

"She's crazy! She's trying to heal herself with chemical X! I looked over to a chamber filled with opaque black liquid.

"She's in there? For how much longer?" I was beginning to grow concerned for my girlfriend at this point, what was she thinking?

"It should be done any minute now. She's been in there for almost half an hour…" Just as I was about to respond, all of the liquid drained and Buttercup stumbled out. We all looked at her with anxious eyes, wondering what would happen next.

"See Bloss! I _told_ you I would be fine! Not even a scratch!" We looked her over and sure enough, she looked as good as before aside from a few light scars. Without warning, we all jumped on her in some obnoxiously cliché group hug. She was quick to protest and struggled away from us.

"I thought you were going to get yourself killed!" Blossom was on the verge of tears and couldn't find it in herself to get mad.

"You scared the shit outta me!" Kit was in between being angry and relieved.

"I'm so glad you're ok Buttercup…" Bubbles took the opportunity to trap her in yet another hug. After everyone had their say on the matter, everyone looked to me.

"Glad to have you up and running B." I kissed her lightly and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Glad to _be_ up and running." She whispered into my shoulder so that only I could hear her. I buried my nose in her hair and smiled, happy that everything turned out alright.

HIM's POV

I screamed in pure anger as I watched them hug it out in the lab. I was hoping she would at least lose a limb! I wanted something horrible to happen! I looked over at the professor and saw a proud smirk on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" I snarled, but the man wasn't affected.

"You really think you can kill her don't you? She's the toughest person I know. None of your challenges are going to work." My blood boiled at his comment. I drew my claw back and slapped him hard with it, leaving a nasty cut across his cheek.

"I told the little slut that I wouldn't _kill_ you, but that doesn't make you invincible! I can still _hurt_ you as much as I want and she won't know until she comes back here!" His grin quickly turned to a defiant glare.

"Don't you dare call her that! And once she finishes these challenges and gets her powers back, she's going to rip your throat out!" It was my turn to grin.

"Those are big words for someone who's tied to a chair and completely at my mercy. Not to mention, the girl is only one fifth of the way through the challenge! I promise you, someone will die during these challenges." The professor didn't respond, but I could tell he was angry.

This girl is going down.

AN: This chapter took a little longer than I expected. I tried to add some humor in it to lighten the mood… Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review!


	12. Challenge 11

AN: This is a humor chapter, I'm giving you a break from the drama, at least a little bit. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11: Challenge 11

Buttercup's POV

I woke up to the sound of someone beating on the door. I groaned in frustration and slid out from Butch's hold to find out who was so rude as to bang on the door at… 5:47 in the morning. The banging continued, which only made me grumpier than I already was as I dragged myself down the stairs.

As soon as I reached the door, I yanked it open and put on my nastiest glare. "What do you want at 5:47 in the fucking AM? You really couldn't have just waited a few hours?" I practically hissed at the two people on the doorstep. They composed themselves and stated their businesses.

"We came for a Butch Jojo who escaped rehab two days ago. His brothers said he might be here." My eye twitched in agitation.

"Rehab isn't even open yet! It opens at seven! Why are you here so early?" The unwanted visitors flinched and meekly responded.

"That's not important. Is he here?" I glared harshly at them.

"For the record, it is important because you woke me up and I was in the middle of a damn good dream and it's been really hard to come across those recently. If you know what's good for you, you'll get the fuck away from this fucking house and if you're still in the mood to piss people off, you can come back and try again at a half decent hour!" The rehab workers almost seemed to shrink in front of me and they hightailed it back to their car.

"You can keep him!" One of the workers yelled from their window and then they sped off. I slammed the door closed and then realized I wasn't even tired anymore.

"Son of a bitch!" I screamed in anger as I realized I would never even get to finish my dream. I kicked the closest thing to me, which just happened to be a table.

"Fuck!" I dropped to the ground and dramatically held my foot to my chest, actually feeling like I broke a few toes off. This was not a good morning.

After recovering from my tragic accident, I limped up the stairs to wake up Butch, only to see everyone in the hallway glaring at me since I probably woke them all up.

"Oh, hey guys. Wonderful morning, wouldn't you say so?" They all just glared harder at me and walked down the stairs to start the day a little earlier than usual.

I walked to my room and pulled the red letter off of my dresser.

"You've impressed me yesterday. I didn't expect you to survive, much less kill the lion. Don't worry, today won't be that bad, but maybe it's just the calm before the storm. Don't get too comfortable brat, you won't win. Tonight you are to party the night away in a nightclub. Here's the catch, you have to go to a club in one of Citiesville's ghettos. With what you've been up to, I'm sure a few girls are going to want to tear you to pieces. Have fun tonight!" I rolled my eyes and tossed the letter to the side. That would be easy.

I made my way downstairs and received the fifth degree as soon as I stepped in the kitchen where the whole gang was eating breakfast.

"Buttercup! What were you doing screaming at five in the morning?" Bubbles tried to sound nice, but it wasn't hard to catch the snappiness behind her tone. I opened my mouth to answer, but was cut off by Kit.

"Yeah! I was having a good sleep, but you just couldn't let that happen could you?" I rolled my eyes and tried to reply again, but Bradley cut me off.

"Yeah! And because you woke her up, she woke me up! I hate waking up early!" I started to fine at how many times I had been cut off. I opened my mouth to speak, but Butch decided to cut in this time.

"You could've just kept it down a little! Just because you had to wake up early doesn't me-" I cut him off with the most dangerous looking glare I could think of.

"You, Butch Jojo, have no room to talk! The reason I had to wake up so early is because there was a loud banging on the door at exactly 5:47. Do you know why there was a loud banging on the door?" No response. "Didn't fucking think so! The rehab center sent two doctors over here because you never went back! They came over here to get you. You're lucky I scared them off instead of handing you off! So, Butch Jojo, I don't wanna hear it from you!" I felt myself calm down after releasing all my frustrations and all the glares that were formerly directed at me turned to my boyfriend. Yeah, this was a rough morning.

Luckily, after breakfast, everyone calmed down and returned to their regular not angry selves.

"Hey Kit, you still up for hanging out today?" She looked up at me in surprise, probably having forgot about our conversation before my challenge yesterday. I was about to remind her, but it seemed like a light bulb went off in her head.

"Oh yeah! Bradley and I have a date, but you can third wheel if you want." She was probably expecting me to decline the offer, but I was going to have fun with this. An devious smirk came onto my face and I looked her right in the eyes.

"Sounds like fun, I'm in. Butch, you can go to rehab to show them you're clean and tell them to never come to the house again." Bradley and Kit shared a look of disbelief and Butch hung his head in defeat. I jumped on Bradley's back and looked right at Kit. "So when's our date and where are we going?"

Kitty's POV

I could see the mischief on my friend's face and I knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted to be the most annoying third wheel in all of history.

"You really have nothing better to do with your day than be a third wheel?" She held my gaze with an evil smirk.

"Nope. Thanks for the invite!" I groaned loudly, not even hiding how frustrated I was with her.

"Buttercup can we talk alone for a second?" She sent a smug smile and followed me to another room.

"You wanted to talk?" I turned around and glared at her.

"What the hell! Why are you doing this?" She actually started laughing.

"Kit, I've always wanted to be a third wheel. Plus, I wanted to spend time with you." I scowled at what she said and the nickname she gave my boyfriend.

"His name's Bradley. And why can't we just find some other day to hang out?" She looked away with a sad look and I immediately felt bad.

"You're really just gonna ditch me because your boyfriend showed up? I took a day off from mine to spend time with you…" I felt really guilty and my best friend turned her back towards me.

"Wait, Buttercup! I'm sorry, you can come!" She quickly turned around with a shit eating smirk on her face and laughed.

"Ok! What time is it and where?" My mouth dropped as I realized that she played me. I hung my head in defeat and gave her the details.

"We're leaving at four to go to the movies." She looked to the clock and flashed a genuine smile.

"Sounds fun! I'll drive Butch to the rehab center and then I'll be back to get ready for our date!" She ran off and I couldn't help but smile softly after her. She was a handful, but I knew she would do anything for me. I walked back to where Bradley was standing and put his arm around my shoulder. He looked down and pulled me in closer.

"Hey baby, so what's the deal for tonight?" I looked up at him sheepishly and laughed a little.

"About that… I couldn't say no to her, she pulled the 'you're ditching your best friend for your boyfriend' card and I realized that I really haven't spent that much time with her since you came here. We can allow her to come on one date." He groaned in frustration.

"Why can't you just ditch her? She's really not a good influence. She is a nice girl, but she's fucking insane Babe!" It was my turn to show my frustration.

"You said you would try to accept her! She's my best friend and I'm not going to ditch her!" Bradley was standing there wide eyed with a guilty expression. Good, maybe he would finally warm up to her.

"I didn't know that being your friend was causing a rift in your relationship… Don't worry about me coming on your date." I whipped around to see Buttercup standing in the doorway to the room we were in.

"What are you doing here?" Bradley spoke up before I could find my voice for words.

"Well it's my house and I live here and this is the room where I left my keys." She walked towards me and reached behind me. I looked at what she reached for and saw her holding her keys.

"Buttercup maybe we should talk about this, it's not what you think." She shook her head and turned to leave the room.

"I have to drive Butch to rehab. Maybe if you have time when I get back we can talk." She walked out of the room with her head hung slightly.

"I'm starting to see why you couldn't say no. You're right, I should accept her. She's your best friend and she makes you happy." I looked up at my boyfriend with hope.

"So she can come on our date?" His smile quickly slid off his face.

"No." Can't blame a girl for trying…

Buttercup's POV

Butch and I walked into the rehab center, both of us still in our pajamas. We both got weird looks as we walked in, but who even cared?

"Hey reception lady! I brought Butch Jojo here." The woman at the desk glared up at me and then glanced to Butch.

"Oh! Wonderful, we were afraid he wasn't going to come back!" My eyes narrowed at her cheerful attitude since I was still a little pissed about this morning.

"Yeah, well he's back and there was no need to send doctors over at 5:47 in the morning! He's clean so just have them test him and let him come home." I looked over for Butch to back me up, but he was sitting in a chair taking a nap.

"The lady looked at me skeptically. We'll run some tests on him, but we might keep him for the day just to be sure." I rolled my eyes and walked over to my sleeping boyfriend.

"Butch, wake up." His eyes fluttered open and he looked in my eyes.

"Hey babe what's up?" I smiled lightly at the name and held his hand.

"They're making you stay for the day so I'm gonna head out once you get called in. I have to go to a nightclub in citiesville's ghettos tonight so do you think you can fly home?" He cringed at the mention of the challenge, but nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I can make it home, be careful tonight." He gave me a light kiss on my jaw and draped his arm over my shoulder.

"I always am!" I knew that wouldn't put him at any ease, but I had to say something.

"Butch Jojo, you can come back now." We both stood up and I gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Love you." I felt nervous saying it, but I was put at ease when he smiled loving my at me and said the same.

"Love you too." With that, he walked after the nurse and I walked out to my car.

As I got home, I saw Bradley's car pulling out of the driveway. Honestly, it kinda hurt a little bit to know that I might be losing one of my only friends. I backed out of the driveway to let them leave, but they surprised me when Kit walked up to my car. I rolled down the window as she got closer so she could say whatever she wanted to.

She made it to the window, but she just stood there.

"Did you need something?" I tried to help her get out whatever she wanted to say.

"Umm… I'm sorry about this morning. You aren't making any problems in my relationship and if I can do anything to prove it to you, I will." I was about to reject the offer since I was never really upset with her, but a probably bad idea popped into my mind and I couldn't stop my mouth before it came out.

"I'm going to a nightclub tonight. Come with me." She looked back at her ride as she thought about it. After a tense minute, my best friend turned to face me again.

"Bradley won't like it too much, but I'll come. Promise." I couldn't hide the genuine smile that jumped onto my face.

"Okay great! When are you planning on getting back from your date?" She thought on it for a moment.

"We planned on staying as late as we wanted, but I can make arrangements to be home at 7." That was perfect!

"Sounds great Kit! See you at seven, text me if something changes." She smiled at me and nodded.

"Will do Buttercup." I watched as she got in the car with her boyfriend and they drove off. Once they pulled out of the driveway, I pulled in and walked into the house for a nap. If I was going to stay out all night, I was gonna need more sleep.

Kitty's POV

"So what's the deal with you and Buttercup?" After a while of silent driving, my boyfriend finally asked the question.

"I'm going to a nightclub with her tonight. We need to be home at seven so we can go." His jaw clenched and his grip on the wheel tightened.

"And where is this nightclub?" I hadn't even thought to ask that.

"I don't know yet, but I promised I would go with her." Bradley took a quick glance at me and shook his head.

"I'm coming with you." My head snapped to face him with a disbelieving look.

"You can't! I'm supposed to be spending the night with her as my best friend! You would be the third wheel and she would get upset since we didn't want her to third wheel our date. You don't need to follow me everywhere." His mouth twisted into a frown.

"Look, I'm just worried about your safety. That girl has been doing a lot of dangerous stuff lately and I wouldn't be surprised if she was bringing you to citiesville's ghettos!" I sent him a light glare.

"If that is the case, she wouldn't let me get hurt. You don't need to protect me from my best friend Bradley. Now just drop the topic so we can enjoy our date instead of being mad at each other." His jaw clenched and his mouth opened to say something, but he thought better of it and just continued to drive.

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet and after a few minutes of awkward silence, we made it to the movie theatre. We hopped out of the car and walked up to the ticket booth to buy two tickets for Battle Moon Galactic 4. Yeah, we watch action movies. Surprised?

Bradley bought a large popcorn and a large coke to share with me before we went into the theatre. Luckily, the theatre wasn't too crowded and there were plenty seats open. It didn't take too much consideration to sit in the third row. Nobody ever sat in the first or second rows unless there were no more seats and they were the perfect distance from the big screen.

Almost immediately after sitting down I took hold of Bradley's hand. "I'm really glad you came to Townsville. I missed you so much while we were apart…" He turned towards me and leaned in to kiss me on the lips. I melted into it and was reminded of how much I loved him. We pulled apart and he looked into my eyes.

"I missed you too baby. I love you so much. I'm sorry if I come off as too protective sometimes, I just never want to see you hurt, especially if I know I could've prevented it." I smiled and leaned into his shoulder.

"It's okay, I appreciate the concern and I love you too Bradley. You're all I could ask for." His arm draped around and pulled me closer to him as the movie started.

After the events of yesterday, the action in the movie didn't seem all that exciting, but either way, we had a good time together.

"Where do you wanna go to eat?" I looked at the time and saw that we had about an hour to get home.

"We don't have too much time so maybe we can just go to Chipotle." Bradley thought on it and nodded his agreement.

"Okay sounds good enough to me. Let's go." He opened my car door for me and closed it after me once I sat down. I smiled at the sweet gesture and watched him walk to his side of the car.

The car started and we pulled off almost immediately since Bradley probably wanted as much time as he could get to eat. It only took a few minutes to get there and when we did, he hopped out of the car faster than I'd ever seen. I reached to open my door, but I saw that it was already opened by my boyfriend.

"Hurry we don't have too much time and I want to get through a whole dinner with you." I yelped in shock when he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder.

"Bradley what are you do-" He began to run towards the building.

"I love you, but you weren't moving fast enough. We're on a time limit babe." We both laughed all the way into the restaurant and didn't even care when we received weird looks from everyone around us. He put me down gently and we walked over to order.

"Hi, welcome to Chipotle. What can I get for you?" Bradley looked at me, signaling that I could order first.

"I'll have a Burrito bowl with brown rice, no beans, chicken, mild salsa, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole." The worker put all of the ingredients in as I listed them off and I couldn't wait to eat it. Bradley soon came to the register with a burrito.

"That will be $17.50." My date reached in his wallet and gave the lady a twenty and received $2.50 in change. We walked to an empty table and ate our meals happily.

Once we both finished, we got in the car and headed to Buttercup's house.

The door opened only three seconds after we knocked and my best friend stood at the door with a huge smile on her face.

"You actually came!"

Buttercup's POV

I couldn't stop smiling once I saw them at the door. I was honestly scared that she was going to stand me up.

"Do you wanna get changed or are you wearing that to the club?" While she was on her date, I had changed into a tight black and silver party dress that ended mid thigh and a pair of black six inch heels that tied up to the bottoms of my calves.

She looked down at what she was wearing compared to me and cringed. She had on a white sundress and brown sandals.

"Can you help me pick out a dress?" I allowed a sly smirk on my face.

"I thought you'd never ask! Let's go Kit." I grabbed her hand and all but dragged her up to my room. We ran straight for my closet and I pulled out a short black and gold dress.

"Try this on." She took the dress from my hands and changed into it while I looked for a matching pair of shoes. I grabbed a pair of gold stilettos and turned around to see her already in the mid thigh length dress. I looked her over with a smirk and handed her the shoes.

"How does it look? My size is usually a little smaller than you so-" I cut her off with my own sentence.

"That dress is a little too small for me, that's why I picked it… and it's hot. Try on these shoes, they should fit since we're the same shoe size." She pulled on the shoes without hesitation and I smiled at my handiwork.

"Are we good to go?" I looked over her once more and realized what was missing.

"Sit down and close your eyes. Don't open them until I tell you to." She sat on the edge of my bed and did as I told her. I started by giving her hair a side part as opposed to the middle part she had. She looked too professional that way. After her hair was taken care of, I applied a lighter version of eye makeup the her eyes than mine. I gave her a brown smokey eye with black eyeliner instead of my gray and black smokey eye. I clipped a black choker with a gold moon in the middle of it around her neck and smiled.

"Okay. You can open your eyes now." Kit looked straight ahead at herself in my dresser mirror and she smiled.

"Thanks BC now I look club ready! Where is it anyways?" My heart stopped for a second as I realized I never told her where it was.

"Don't kill me-" She cut me off with a stern glare.

"Buttercup if you're bringing me somewhere to get killed tonight-" it was my turn to cut her off.

"Kit hear me out. The club is in the ghettos of Citiesville but I swear on my life I won't let you get hurt." She gave me a skeptical look, but she eventually gave in.

"Okay, I trust you Buttercup, but Bradley won't be happy…" I scoffed at the mention of her overprotective boyfriend.

"God he acts more like your mom than your boyfriend sometimes! Let's go." She followed me downstairs and Bradley gaped at us as we came downstairs.

"No. You can't wear that to a club." She was about to turn around and change, but I caught her arm.

"You aren't her fucking mom and she's old enough to dress how she pleases. She only has eyes for you so there's nothing to worry about." Bradley glared at me and grumbled in defeat.

"At least tell me where you guys are going to be and when you plan to be back." I huffed and rolled my eyes.

"You really don't trust me, do you? We're going to be in Citiesville and we plan to leave around midnight." I moved to walk out of the door with Kit, but Bradley blocked me from the door.

"What the fuck is it now dude? I told you what you wanted to know now let us leave." He glared at me hard.

"Kitty, I just need to talk to her alone for a second, could you please wait for her in the car love?" She nodded to him and they shared a quick kiss before she walked out to the car. He waited to speak until she closed the car door behind her.

"If she has a single fucking scratch on her I won't hesitate to keep her away from you for as long as she lives. You know she would choose me over you in a heartbeat." My nose twitched in anger and I shoved him hard out of the way.

"Don't threaten me Phoenix. Believe it or not, I'm not out to hurt Kit, she's my best friend. I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt, but it won't be because you said it, it'll be because I actually care about her and don't want her to get hurt. Now I'm gonna go to my car and have a good time at the club with my best friend and you aren't gonna ruin it." I didn't wait for a response and walked out to find Kit waiting in the car. I hopped in the driver's seat and we drove towards Citiesville.

About two minutes into the drive, I turned on the radio and cranked the music. Our ride soon turned into a karaoke and we ended up laughing the whole way to Citiesville.

The one hour drive only felt like ten minutes and we hopped out of the car still laughing. Our carefree attitudes earned us a few glares, but we ignored them as we entered the club.

"Buttercup? I-I've never been to a club before…" I looked back at Kit and could see that she was blushing in embarrassment even with the strobe lights. I took her hand and talked as I led her to the bar.

"You just need to loosen up! Luckily, since we're in the ghetto, they don't ID and I'll get something so we can let loose a little." She looked a bit uneasy, but a confident smile soon covered her hesitation. We got to the bar and I ordered a sex on the beach for Kit and a tropical storm for myself, which was a mixture of Malibu, Triple Sec, and Vodka.

"Don't worry, yours isn't too strong." She smiled as I seemingly read her mind and began to drink it.

"Wow, this is really good!" She smiled brightly and her eyes shone in the strobe lights. I couldn't help but smile back at her innocence.

"I figured you would like it! You can dance, right?" I practically had to scream over the music. Her whole face brightened at the mention of dancing.

"I love dancing!" I smiled and downed the rest of my drink and pulled her to the dance floor once she finished hers. The song Crying in the Club was playing loudly and I started to bust out my moves. I wasn't too open about it, but I was a great dancer. Once I caught onto the beat, I started to dance as if it was choreographed. Kit watched in amazement and tried to keep up. I saw her struggling so I slowed it down a bit and slipped into a more casual dance.

"Sorry Kit, it was instinct." She laughed with me as we continued to dance to the beat of the songs. Our laughing stopped when two hood rats approached us. Their pants were almost at their knees with white wife beaters and untied Jordan's. They both tried to rock a gold grill and had gang tattoos on their face and arms.

"Hey ladies, we just saw you over here and wanted to dance and maybe more." The one who talked had dreads and moved in closer. I stepped protectively in front of my best friend as I saw her shy away in discomfort.

"How about we don't dance and nothing more." The other man stepped forward, trying to intimidate me, but I didn't budge.

"Look bitch, I don't think you heard us right so I'll repeat what he said-" I cut him off with my own snippy comment.

"I heard perfectly fine and honestly wish I hadn't. We don't want anything to do with you two, so get lost and leave us alone." The two punks closed in on me and pushed Kit further behind me, signaling her to make a break for it. I saw her slip into the bathroom from the corner of my eye and I turned back just in time to avoid a punch aimed at my face. Without any remorse, I scuffed their shoes and both dropped to the ground, cradling their foot, staring at the scuff mark in utter heartbreak.

"How could you just fuckin' do that bitch? These are my J's!" The men were dangerously close to tears and I just scoffed at how ridiculously easy that was. After making sure they weren't getting back up, I went to the bathroom to find my best friend to assure her everything was fine.

"Kit? They're gone. They were all talk we won't have to worry about them." I didn't get a response and looked around the bathroom to find a very nervous friend.

"Buttercup, I don't wanna go back out. I want to go home!" I felt guilty for pulling her into this with me and wrapped her in a comforting hug.

"Kit I swear to you that as long as I'm alive you won't get hurt tonight. Just stay with me the whole time and I promise you'll be fine. She gave me a skeptical look, but followed me out.

"Okay, I'm going to need another one of those drinks though." We laughed together the whole way to the bar and I ordered her and myself another drink. Once downing the two drinks, we once again made our way onto the dance floor.

"You think you're better than me bitch? Then let's have a dance off right here, right now!" The loud girl caught our attention easily. My gaze drifted to her target, a scared looking girl around my age.

"I never said I was better than you, I was just dancing!" The girl tried to diffuse the aggression in the other girl, but it wasn't working.

"Don't give me that bullshit! You bumped into me while you were dancing on my turf. Don't be a little bitch and run from a fight that you picked!" I had enough and looked towards Kit who was thinking the same thing.

"Stay behind me." Kit obeyed my orders exactly as I walked up to the conflict.

"Hey, she wasn't picking a fight. Other people have a right to dance here and it isn't that uncommon for someone to accidentally bump into another person. Now, calm down and just go back to dancing." The scared girl looked at me with endless gratitude as I fended off the punk acting girl.

"Hey Barbie, why don't you just mind your own fuckin' business. This is between me and her, not your fake ass." I raised an eyebrow at her insult.

"Barbie? Fake ass? Bitch I don't know what you're looking at, but it can't possibly be me! First off, I'm not fucking blonde, actually the farthest damn thing from it, and second, if anyone's a fake ass, it's you. It's not hard to see that you had boob implants. Too bad you didn't fix your ass too because there's nothing there for me to kick! Now just leave the girl alone and leave the fucking club if you're gonna act like a dirty piece of trash!" The girl's face twisted with anger and she pointed an accusing finger at me.

"You know what? I challenge you to a dance battle! Loser has to leave." I rolled my eyes at the hoodrat.

"So who's the judge?" Her glare intensified, but I wasn't phased.

"Everyone in the club. We dance in the middle and a circle will form around us. You up for the challenge or are you scared?" My eyes narrowed at the offer to back out.

"I never back down from a challenge. Bring it on!" The girl's eyes narrowed and she screamed as loud and drawn out as she could.

"Dance Battle!" Almost immediately, the space around us cleared and all of the people formed a ring around the two of us. I never knew a dance battle to seem so intense before it even started. I knew that if I left, that would mean I'd fail the challenge and HIM would kill the professor without any hesitation. The music shut down and everything went silent for a full minute before an all too familiar song rang through the club.

"Hiya Barbie!" Fuck. No.

"Hi Ken!" Fuck.

"Do you wanna go for a ride?" No.

"Sure Ken!" No.

"Jump in." Fuck. It just had to be this fucking song.

I stepped forward slowly and rigidly as if I were an actual Barbie doll, jerking in all the right places to make it seem as if I was an actual plastic doll. I mentally cursed the DJ as I continued to wow the audience with an impressive dance routine.

My opponent stepped towards me and started some hip hop dance that would've been much more impressive if it actually matched the song. The crowd seemed to love it, however, so I decided to step up my game.

Despite my hate for the song, I couldn't say I hated the beat of the remix. Once the dubstep kicked in I slowly broke from my rigid dance moves and became more fluid as if becoming a real person again. I winked slyly at the smug looking girl and broke into sporadic and complicated hand movements, my body weight shifting smoothly from my back leg to my front.

The audience went wild as I flipped my hair and slipped into a sexy body roll. My opponent showed signs of evident anger as she tried to match my fast pace, but quickly fell behind. While I could tell the girl had talent, she didn't have much rhythm to go with it. I joined her in dancing and outpaced her, causing her a great deal of frustration. As the beat slowed back down to that of the original song, I gradually slowed my pace and stiffened again.

I looked over and watched her do the same, trying to beat me in my own game. Not gonna happen. I let a smirk slide across my face and I matched my dancing style from the beginning. The girl directly in front of me tried to copy my dancing style and did an admirably good job with it. Just not as good as me.

As Ken and Barbie began to talk again, my pulse began to slow down.

"Oh, I'm having so much fun!"

"Well, Barbie, we're just getting started."

"Oh, I love you Ken." With the last words, I winked to my audience and blew a kiss. My opponent hastily tried to do the same but didn't get nearly the same reaction that my final move did. I almost jumped as the DJ's voice rang through the room.

"Hey now party people! So what do y'all gotta say for Willow?" Oh, so that was her name. The crowd was loud for her and I actually felt a bit nervous. Would her popularity put her over the top?

"Ok, now what you got for our competitor, Buttercup?" My already racing pulse spiked as a deafening cheer all but busted my eardrums. I couldn't keep the relieved smile off my face as I was declared the winner of the dance battle. Willow screeched and charged at me in blind rage. My attention snapped towards the attacking girl and I easily sidestepped, only to grab her arm and sling her hard onto the ground farther away from me.

"You lost Willow. The deal was that you have to leave. Now go." The enraged skank glared at me before storming out of the club.

I hadn't even realized how silent it was until the music blasted through the sound system again. I stood still for a moment, letting everything that just happened sink in, but my thoughts were interrupted by a pair of arms flinging themselves around me.

"BC you were so awesome! I saw you dancing earlier, but I didn't know you were that good!" I smiled at my best friend's compliment and looked at the time.

"We have time for about another song. Dance with me." Her eyes shone brighter at the thought of dancing to one last song. Swalla by Jason Derulo was the next song and Kit and I were causing quite the spectacle with our dancing. I was honestly impressed with the moves she was throwing down and her ability to keep up. Our dancing was only fueled further from all the hollars we received. It could've been the rush of the recently ended dance battle, or the alcohol in both of our systems, but there were even a few times throughout the song where we grinded our asses on the other. It also could've been fueled by the approval the crowd gave us. I watched in a mix of shock and amusement as Kit took a swig of a random guy's drink, not that the guy minded.

Once the song ended, we stumbled away from the dance floor laughing like idiots.

"I can't believe I just did that!" Kit practically screamed and I could only laugh at the situation. Kit was one of the last people I would've guessed had it in her, but I was glad she did.

"Wanna grab one more drink before we leave?" If she didn't already have any alcohol in her system, she probably wouldn't have agreed as easily as she did. We walked over to the bar and I bought us both the same drinks we had before.

"Buttercup I had my doubts, but I had a lot of fun tonight." I smiled over to her, happy that we could have a fun night out.

"Good, I'm glad. After all the stress I've been putting on everyone, you probably needed some time to let loose and have fun." With that, I threw back the rest of my drink without a problem. I turned my attention towards my best friend who was also downing the last sip of her drink.

"Ready to go? The boys should be here by now." She swallowed her sip and smiled.

"Yeah let's go." I put about a hundred dollars on the bar and walked out with Kit. We looked around, but the boys weren't there.

"Hey Kit, call Bradley and ask where they are." She nodded and pulled out her phone while I kept lookout for anything possibly dangerous.

"Oh look. It's The barbie girl and her little friend." My first instinct was to grab Kit's arm and pull her close.

"Get the fuck outta here. You lost, just accept that." The girl named Window, or Widow, or something like that walked out of the shadows, flanked by two other girls. I slowly pushed Kit towards my car and gave her the keys.

"Kit, get in my car, you'll be safe there." She hesitated before taking my keys and the group of girls were closing in on us. "Kit, now. Take them and get in the car now." My demanding voice was all it took for her to take the keys and move towards my car. One of the girls broke after Kit, but I grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground in front of me. I looked up to the other two girls and my eyes widened at the sight of the knives they were holding.

"Damn. I just can't catch a break…" I kept my eyes on them as I pulled my heels off. Once I got the first one off, the second lackey charged at me, her knife held up. She lunged for my neck, and with only one heel on, all I could do was block the blow with my arm. I hissed as the knife cut deep into my arm. Thinking quick, I used my heeled foot to kick her in the gut. The girl fell to her knees holding her stomach where my heel worked as a makeshift knife. I pulled my foot back and took off the shoe, finally finding my balance.

I didn't even notice as the girl I threw down earlier began to move behind me, but I could hear Kit's panicked screams from the car.

"Buttercup look out!" I turned around to take a knife to the shoulder instead of my back. Though it hurt like a bitch, I could've died if she hit her mark. Before she could remove her weapon, I broke her arm and threw one of my heels at her. The shoe hit her square in the forehead, not killing her, but definitely knocking her out.

Not wasting any time, I turned to find the ring leader, but I didn't see her anywhere. I moved towards the car to make sure she wouldn't be able to get to Kit before me and pulled the knife from my shoulder to use as a weapon. I cringed at the pain and turned to my crying best friend.

"Hey, wipe your tears. It's gonna be okay I swear." Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, I felt a sharp pain through the right side of my back. I stood in shock at the knife that stuck through my chest. I wanted to fall down right there, but Buttercup Utonium doesn't lose. Not even on cheap shots.

I felt the weapon retract from my body, but I stood strong against her. Her eyes widened once she realized I wasn't going down.

"But I stabbed you in the heart! You should be dying." I held a dark glare on the girl.

"Learn some anatomy bitch. The heart's on the left side. You didn't do anything but severely piss me off." The girl tried to run, but I threw the knife at her. It landed right on target and cut through her leg, causing her to fall over. I walked over to the girl and made her look me in the eyes.

"Please don't kill me!" The girl pleaded for her life as I lifted her against the wall by her neck.

"You tried to kill me. If you want to live, never try shit like this again. Take your other bitches and go home." I dropped her and she quickly ran to the other girls, waking them up and limping off into an alley.

I walked back over to Kit and saw her crying beginning to die down.

"You okay Kit?" She nodded, but couldn't find any words to speak.

"Do you know where the boys are?" She looked up at me with a scared look on her face.

"They just left and should be here in a half hour." I cursed under my breath and decided it would be safer for Kit if I sat outside the car. I collected my shoes from the ground and put them in the car.

"Kit, lock the doors. If anything else pops up, I don't want them to be able to open the doors." She looked at me nervously.

"Aren't you going to get in?" She looked on the verge of tears again.

"Kit, if anyone decided to attack us then we'd both be sitting ducks. I'll stay out here and you can be safe. I told you nothing would happen to you and I intend to keep that promise."

While waiting for the boys, I tried to stop the bleeding in my chest and my shoulder. Eventually, I just gave up since They weren't really bleeding enough to kill me. The sound of dark chuckles sounded from a nearby alley and I immediately went on alert.

"So you think you can mess with our girls and get away with it huh?" From the same alley that the girls retreated into, three hood rats stepped into the open and it didn't take long for me to notice the guns sticking out of their pants.

"Kit, get down. Don't look out the window no matter what and text Bradley to hurry the hell up." She didn't hesitate to follow my instructions this time and she disappeared from the window.

"Look. Your girls attacked us first. We're just trying to get home." The guys walked towards me menacingly, but I held my ground.

"That don't matter. Our girls is hurt and you the reason." From the corner of my eye, I saw one of the guys pulling his gun and I was quick to move to disarm him. Before he could shoot at my head, I hit the gun down and the bullet hit my stomach instead. I screamed out, but managed to break the guy's arm and take the gun. I could only imagine what Kit thought was happening right now. I turned my loaded gun towards the ring leader and the other guy held his gun up at me.

"Shoot that gun and your leader is as good as dead. With how much your arms are shaking, you might even miss. The armed sidekick looked down and that was all I needed to move in and kick the gun out of his hand. I caught it and had it aimed towards the two standing men. Their looks of fear soon turned into that of victory and realization that I had forgotten about the other guy kicked in seconds before I was put in a headlock. I used one of the guns to shoot him in the foot, but he didn't release his hold.

The leader held up his gun to shoot at me, and I felt actual fear. The man on me had a hold on my arms so that I couldn't even shoot at the other two and he was too big for me to move and use as a shield.

I struggled against the guy and even tried shooting at his foot again, but all I got was a pained grunt.

"Let me go!" I screamed in hopes of throwing them off or even getting surrounding help, but that only seemed to agitate the group more and the man holding me tightened his grip to a painful force. I could only struggle as the leader raised his gun to aim at me.

Right as he was about to pull the trigger, a car slammed right into his back, not hard enough to kill him, but definitely hard enough to break a few bones and knock him out. Bradley and Butch jumped out of the car and went to work. Bradley got into an impressive fist fight with the second lackey and Butch ran over to help me get out of the man's grasp.

"Get the fuck off of my girl!" Butch shot his laser eyes at the man's arms and he was quick to drop me. I moved out of the way fast to give my guy all the space he needed to beat the shit outta the hood rat that dared attack me. I turned my attention to Bradley's fight and to his credit, the boy was kicking some serious ass. I cringed at a nasty right hook that sent the hood rat flying into the closest wall. The guy was out cold and looked like a ton of bricks fell on his face.

I looked back to see Butch finishing off the last guy with a devastating punch to the guy that sent him flying seven feet up the wall behind us. Needles to say, the guy was down for the count.

I turned towards Bradley and my eyes widened as he lifted me off the ground and pinned me hard against a wall.

"Where's Kitty! I knew you would get her in this kind of situation! Why won't you just get the fuck out of her life and let her be safe? You fucking bitch, where is she?" I couldn't breathe, much less talk by the way he was holding me. I barely managed to cough up some blood and that luckily got him to drop me.

I cringed from how hard I hit the ground.

"Where. Is. My. Girlfriend?" I coughed up more blood and Butch pushed him back.

"Dude, what the fuck is your problem? I don't appreciate you hurting my girl! Maybe she could've told you if you weren't trying to strangle her!" Butch pulled his fist back to punch Bradley, but I pulled at his leg and shook my head.

"She's in the car." I managed to choke that out before I started coughing again. Bradley walked towards my car without another word.

"Kit? Are you in there?" A crying girl popped into the window.

"Are they gone? Is Buttercup okay?" Bradley turned towards me with a glare.

"You made her cry! Why the fuck did I think it was a good idea to let her come here with you?" I felt my temper rise and I found the strength to stand up.

"You aren't her fucking mom! She can make her own decisions! Why don't you ask her if she had fun before this? Why don't you ask her if she's fucking hurt? Stop acting like I'm the fucking antichrist because I'm not! I'm her best friend and I kept her safe like I promised I would!" He didn't let up on his glare and turned to Kit.

"Kit, are you okay? Did you really have fun tonight?" Kit stepped out of the car without any sign of a scratch on her.

"No, I'm not hurt at all, and I did have fun. I had a lot of fun actually. We got attacked by some girl and her gang that lost a dance battle to Buttercup and those guys were their boyfriends." Bradley turned back towards me and looked over all of my injuries and my ruined dress. He opened his mouth to apologize, but I held my hand up.

"Save it. You're not sorry that you accused me of putting Kit in danger, you're sorry that you were wrong. I'm not stupid enough to believe you wouldn't do the same thing if something similar happens in the future. I get that you hate me, but you could've at least given me a chance before deciding that." I turned towards Butch, who I was currently holding onto as a support. "Let's go Butch. I'll text you later Kit." My boyfriend helped me into the car and took the driver's seat. I smiled and waved to my best friend as we pulled off.

"Babe, I'm so sorry we didn't get there sooner! Do you need to go to a hospital?" I shook my head, not wanting to go to that place.

"The only time I got shot it went all the way through so I just need to be patched up a little. Blossom can take care of that." He gave me a doubtful look and leaned over to kiss me at a red light.

"I don't know what I would've done if we got there too late… I saw that guy pointing a gun at you and all I could think was to run the bastard over. I'm sorry we weren't there sooner…" He looked away guiltily and I tilted his head back up.

"You couldn't have known that would happen. Plus, you definitely get points for running the guy over right before he shot his gun." He chuckled along with me and pulled off at the green light.

Bradley's POV

I looked after her car, an immense wave of guilt washing over me. She looked like she had been stabbed and shot multiple times and I still yelled at her. She kept her promise and kept my girlfriend completely unharmed even though it put her at a disadvantage, even though it put her life on the line. Maybe she was a hero… Maybe I was wrong about her.

"Let's go home Bradley…" Kit sounded upset with me and honestly, I was upset with myself. I walked with her towards my car and she got in the passenger seat while I got in the driver's side. Watching her get in on her own made me cringe from another stab of guilt as I remembered Butch having to help Buttercup get into the car.

"Kit, I'm sorry… I just didn't see you and freaked. You were right about Buttercup, she really is a good person. I was just too overprotective of you to see that… I'll give her a chance Kitty." I peeked over at my girlfriend and saw a sad smile on her face.

"It's about time you realized that. You know it actually hurts her when someone shows that they hate her. She already knows most of Townsville hates her and I could tell that knowing you actually hate her too got to her. You shouldn't be apologizing to me, you should be apologizing to her." I didn't know that she even cared what everyone else thought of her. Knowing that I had actually hurt the girl made me feel awful, especially when she just went to such lengths to protect Kitty.

"I will." I expected silence, but was shocked when I heard a giggle from the passenger side.

"You know, Buttercup had to dance to Barbie Girl tonight. She's actually a really good dancer!" I chuckled as I imagined the tough girl dancing to such a girly song.

"Really? I wouldn't expect her to dance to that kind of song." That's when I heard another giggle.

"That's the funny part. It was for the dance battle so she didn't have a choice! You should've seen the look on her face when it came on! Priceless! I have the whole video on my phone so you can watch it later." I couldn't help but smile at how happy she seemed while looking back on her night out.

"I'll definitely have to watch it. What else did you do?" Her eyes lit up and she sat up straighter in her seat.

"She bought me this drink called sex on the beach! It was really good and she said that any other drink might be too much for me. We also danced together and it was a lot of fun! My favorite part was when we were dancing so good to this one song that we got a whole crowd of people around us! It was so cool Bradley!" I would definitely have to apologize to Buttercup. Not only did she make sure she didn't get drunk, but this was the happiest I'd seen Kit in a while.

"I'm glad you had fun baby." I placed my hand lovingly on her thigh and she put her hand over mine. Yeah I really owed Buttercup an apology.

AN: So there ya go! I had to put some intensity in there, sorry, but I did try to make it a little more light hearted. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review!


	13. Challenge 12

AN: Sorry this took so long to update, I hope you enjoy! WARNING IN CHAPTER. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT, SKIP THAT PART

Chapter 12: Challenge 12

Buttercup's POV

I couldn't help but be thankful that I could use chemical X to heal myself. Otherwise, waking up this morning would've been literal torture. I started to get up, but Butch grabbed my waist and squeezed me like a teddy bear so I couldn't leave.

"Hey babe, could you at least loosen your grip a little?" I felt an uncomfortable tension on my ribs and winced when he hugged me even tighter. Of course he wouldn't hear. I turned in his hold and hugged him like a koala, easily falling back asleep.

Bradley's POV

I woke up to see my girlfriend sitting up in bed, clearly waiting on me to do anything.

"Good morning baby, how'd you sleep?" She smiled and rubbed her eyes.

"Pretty good actually. I wanted you to watch that video I told you about last night. She's so good!" I nodded in agreement to watch the video and I couldn't have been more surprised as I watched it. Of the sisters, I would've thought Bubbles to be the dancer, not Buttercup.

"Oh my god, she is really good! I wasn't expecting that!" I looked at my girlfriend and saw an expectant glare directed towards me.

"You remember what you have to do, right?" I thought about everything that happened last night and everything came back in a flash. I needed to apologize.

"Yeah, let's get ready and go over as soon as possible." With those words, we both raced to get ready, making a record 7 minutes.

"Alright Bradley. Ready to go?" I looked up at my girl as she walked down the stairs and smiled at how great she looked even when she didn't try. She was wearing a pair of black gym shorts that I was pretty sure Buttercup gave her and one of my white t shirts. I couldn't really blame her for dressing lazy since I had the same idea. I looked down to see a black pair of basketball shirt and a plain white t shirt.

"Yup I'm ready, beautiful." I grabbed her hand as we walked to my car, only letting go when we had to get in opposite sides of the car.

The ride wasn't long since there was almost nobody on the roads at 6:30 in the morning and once we got to the door, we realized all the lights were out.

"Well, they have to wake up sometime." I cringed as my girlfriend banged on the door, flashbacks of yesterday morning rushing through my head. It took a while, but Butch eventually came to the door, but I wasn't really expecting what we saw.

Buttercup was hanging on to Butch's chest as if she were a koala, but she was still sound asleep.

Kitty and I started to laugh quietly, only to receive a tired glare from Butch, directed completely at me.

"Look, you gave her a hard enough time last night and in case you haven't noticed, it's a little early for visitors." For a while I didn't say anything, but a nudge from the girl beside me got me talking.

"I actually came over to apologize for last night. I was just scared and she was the first person I thought to take my frustrations out on." Butch gave me a suspicious look, but eventually let us in.

"I'll see if I can wake her up." I looked to Kitty and smiled as we walked in to sit on the loveseat while Butch sat on the couch to try and wake the sleeping girl up. I watched as he tried to pry her arms from him, but her peaceful smile twisted and she held onto him tighter.

"Don't leave me…" I felt a stab in the chest as she mumbled in her sleep. She really didn't have many people in her side.

"Babe we have visitors, you have to get up." She didn't even seem to acknowledge that he said anything and buried her face in his chest.

"Please don't go. Please don't leave me." I could only watch in complete shock as tears started to stream down her face and she started shaking.

"Babe, what are you talking about? I'm right here, I just want you to wake up." He tried again to move her off of him, but it only caused her to let out a heartbreaking scream.

"No! Don't leave me Butch! Don't go!" I watched the scene too shocked to move. I never expected something like this from the seemingly invincible girl.

"Babe I'm right here! Just wake up! It's a dream Buttercup, wake up!" Using his super strength, Butch managed to pry her arms off of him, a pained look crossing his face every time she cried out to him. I wanted to help the guy but before I could she woke up.

Her eyes held a panic that I had never expected to see from her.

"Butch! Oh thank God!" Her arms flew back around him and she hid her face in his shoulder.

"Babe, what happened?" She pulled away from him, finally having calmed down.

"Sorry. I had a really bad nightmare…" Butch pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't be sorry babe, you can't help it. You have two visitors though that might help you forget about it." I had to hold back a laugh as she whipped around and fell off of the couch, hitting her head on the coffee table.

"Oww. Fuck." She looked up as she held her head. "What are you two doing here so early?" Kitty was too busy laughing to answer so I answered for her.

"I wanted to apologize for how I treated you last night… I really was wrong for that and I promise I'll be nicer to you." She stared at me for what seemed like forever, her expression unreadable. Let me tell you, it was intimidating as fuck.

"Umm… Bu-" She held up a hand and cut me off.

"I heard you." I felt my frustration build up, but forced it down.

"Are you gonna respond?" I watched the girl hopefully.

"I'll think about it. I've given you quite a few chances and you've kinda fucked them all up so far. How can I trust that this is any different from all of your other apologies? How do I know you aren't just doing this because Kit told you to? I put my trust in you every time you apologize and so far you've only thrown it back in my face. Maybe I'm too trusting… I'm thinking of changing that about myself." My eyes widened as I realized what I had been doing to her.

"Don't stop trusting people because I fucked up a few times Buttercup. I was just scared last night, I didn't mean to say what I did to you and I feel awful about it. You're a great friend to Kit and you protected her like you promised you would. I really do appreciate that. You were right, she did have fun and I'm sorry for doubting that. She told me about how you looked out for her all night and I feel awful that I jumped to conclusions the way I did. If you can find it in yourself to give me your trust, I promise that I'll never treat you like I did last night ever again. I don't deserve it, but please forgive me and give me your trust again." Her face was conflicted, probably more conflicted than any 18 year old should look.

"You're right. You don't deserve it…" I looked down in disappointment, not being able to look at my girlfriend. I met Buttercup's impossibly green eyes and watched as her glare dissolved, replaced by a defeated look. "But God knows I'm still gonna forgive you…" My eyes widened in shock at her implication.

"Thank you! You won't regret it this time, I promise!" She offered a weak smile and walked up to her room.

"I hope you're right."

Buttercup's POV

I walked into my room and closed the door behind me, pressing my back against it. I closed my eyes and slid to the floor. The second I closed my eyes, scenes from my nightmare started to flash through my memory. It just seemed so real.

*Buttercup's Dream*

Just like any other morning, I woke up in Butch's arms. "Hey babe, wake up." I smiled as his eyes opened to meet mine.

"Goodmorning beautiful." I could only blush and laugh as I got up from the bed.

"Goodmorning Butch." I walked over to get my challenge and read the letter.

'I guess you're still alive since I have to write this letter. Your challenge today is to get in a street fight with the first stranger who bumps into you.' Fighting was always my forte and being able to do just that was going to help me release some pent up stress.

Butch came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my head. "So what do you have to do B?" I leaned back into him and showed him the letter.

"I have to get in a street fight with the first person who bumps into me. It shouldn't be that bad unless I bump into like John Cena or something like that." I could feel the vibration of his laugh on my back.

"I'm sure you could kick John Cena's ass too, but I'll come with you just in case something goes wrong. It never said you couldn't have any help." I couldn't keep the smile off my face knowing he would always be there for me. I turned around in his hold and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"Thanks babe." With that he let me go so we could get ready for the day. I dressed in a pair of dark denim shorts and a black tank top while he wore black basketball shorts and a dark green t shirt.

"Ready to go B?" I nodded and we ran out, both grabbing a banana to start the day.

We were walking hand in hand down the road and almost as soon as we reached Townsville, some really buff tall guy bumps right into me, his ribs hitting my shoulder. I looked at Bitch with a terrified face, bu quickly covered it up.

"Hey! Watch where you're going asshole! Walk much?"

I watched tensely as the guy froze and slowly turned around to face us. "Oh look, a little girl is trying to act all tough-" I growled at his condescending tone.

"I'm a lot tougher than you think dickhead!" The man bent down to my level and gave me a cocky look that said he was mocking me.

Since he was stupid enough to put his face in perfect reach of my fist, I threw a nasty left hook to his jaw before he could even notice. I heard a loud crack and smirked at my handiwork knowing I broke his jaw.

I kept my eyes glued to my opponent for any signs of movement, and as soon as I saw him move, I could tell he was going for a roundhouse kick. As soon as his foot lifted from the ground, I grabbed his leg and flipped him backwards so he was on his back, facing up. To my surprise, the guy was quick to get up and threw a punch that a barely dodged, but put me in a perfect position to deliver yet another blow to his nose, which broke with a sickening crunch upon contact.

I expected him to be out for at least a few seconds, but he turned around and landed a ridiculously painful punch to my eye. I looked up to counter, but froze in shock as I looked up to see that his eyes were yellow and catlike, just like HIM's. I couldn't even collect myself before I took yet another devastating punch to the face.

I snapped back to attention and barely dodged another fist aimed for my face, which met with the sidewalk, but the man didn't even flinch. How was I supposed to beat that? He doesn't feel pain!

I tried anyways and broke his arm while he held it on the ground. To my absolute horror, he didn't even flinch and used the same arm to slam my head into the concrete. My vision started to swim from the sheer force that was put behind the attack and I could only struggle as he lifted me up, preparing to snap my neck. I kicked him in many places, but he didn't even flinch, even when my foot connected with his balls.

I still refused to accept defeat and grabbed his arm, hoping to loosen his grip on my head, but it didn't even phase him. Suddenly, Butch flew in and dislocated the guy's arm and broke all of his fingers, causing the guy to drop me.

"Don't you dare touch her like that HIM! She doesn't have her powers, it's not fair for you to interfere! I watched as Butch fought the guy and smiled at the fact that he was fighting for me even though it was dangerous.

My eyes widened in horror as I watched HIM pull out a strange looking knife. "Butch move!" I screamed to him as loud as I could. He caught sight of the knife, but before he could move, HIM stabbed him right in the heart.

I could've sworn my heart stopped as the knife went straight through him and HIM disappeared, allowing him to drop to the ground. Without missing a beat, I ran over to him and put his head in my lap.

"Oh my god, don't worry, I'm calling Blossom now." At this point I was openly crying.

"Babe, I… think that… was an antidote… X knife. I- I think I'm… gonna die." I let out a sob at the implication.

"No. No, you're gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine, I'm calling Blossom now. You're gonna be fine damnit!" I held back an anguished scream as he coughed up blood.

Blossom finally picked up the phone and I started crying into the phone.

"Blossom! P-please get to Townsville quick! Butch is gonna d-die if you don't! Please hurry Blossom! W-we're on 7th st-street." I burst into tears and leaned down to give Butch a quick kiss.

"Okay I'll be there as soon as possible!" With that she hung up and I started to comfort Butch by running my fingers through his hair.

"I love you B. I'm sorry it had to end like this." I sent him a watery glare and looked him in the eyes, my tears splashing onto his cheeks.

"No! Don't leave me!" I started to cry harder as he started to cough up more blood and close his eyes.

"No, don't g-go! Please don't go Butch! I l-love you so m-much! Please don't l-leave me!" His eyes opened to meet mine weakly and offered a tiny smile.

"K-iss me good-bye?" I wanted to tell him that everything would be ok, but I leaned in to kiss him because I would never forgive myself if I refused him that. After a while, we pulled apart and realized that he never opened his eyes. My blood went cold and I went into denial immediately.

"Butch? Butch, wake up." My breathing started to grow erratic and I shook him gently.

"Butch! Please! Wake up! Don't leave me Butch! I love you!" My hands started shaking uncontrollably and I broke down into a fit of sobs. I held on tight to Butch and buried my face in his soft hair.

"I love you…" I managed to let out a weak whimper and hugged his body close. A little too late, Blossom and Bubbles showed up to the scene.

"Buttercup, we're here!" They looked up and froze, seeing me actually cry for the first time. Their determined looks dropped and was replaced with looks of anguish.

"No, we're too late… we're so sorry." I couldn't even form a response and all I could do was hug him closer, hoping none of it was real.

*End of Buttercup's Dream*

Luckily for me, it wasn't real and I couldn't have been more relieved. I took a breath to calm myself and picked up the letter nervously, praying it wouldn't be about a street fight.

'Hello dearest Buttercup! This might not surprise you, but I have yet another challenge for you. Don't worry, I'm giving you a break tonight… kinda. I was rather impressed with your dancing skills (both kinds of dancing), so tonight you are to attend a birthday party. The address is: 4865 Taperel Dr. Townsville, CA. The party starts at 7 and ends at 10. I expect you to stay for the whole party and do whatever the birthday boy wants you to do. Don't worry, I got parent approval for you to go. Have fun and go alone!'

Okay, so I was going to a child's birthday party. That would be easy, I have a soft spot for kids despite my tough girl rep. I decided on a kid friendly outfit.

After trifling through my drawers for a few minutes, I found the perfect outfit: a pair of dark jegging capris, a light purple v neck t shirt, and a pair of back flip flops. I put my hair in a messy low ponytail and put on my typical makeup.

Immediately after I finished getting ready, I heard a timid knock on the door. "B, can I come in?" I recognized the voice as Butch's and opened the door or him.

"Hey Butch. Wanna read the challenge? It's really easy today." He nodded and walked in, grabbing the note and reading it.

"You're right, this one is pretty easy. You have to go alone though and that's kinda suspicious… but that's not what I came up here for." I knew he was talking about my nightmare, but I didn't want to talk about it.

"You're right, it is kinda weird that I have to go alone…" I bent over to pick my pajamas off of the floor and felt a hard slap on my ass.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" He roughly turned me around to face him and held a strong grip on my face so I would look him in the eyes.

"Don't try to change the subject. This is serious, you were crying. Now tell me what your dream was about." I stared at him defiantly and he pushed me onto my bed.

"Buttercup. Just talk to me." How would I tell him that I had a dream about him being murdered? I swallowed nervously and tried to pull away from his firm grip.

"He killed you." My voice was at a quiet whisper. "He-he killed you. And I couldn't do anything." My voice started to tremble and I could feel my eyes start to water. "They couldn't get there fast enough and y-you left me." The determination in his eyes dissipated and was replaced with a comforting look. He released his hold on my face and pulled me close to him in a loving hug.

"I'm never gonna leave you babe. I'll always be right here with you." I pulled away from him to look in his eyes.

"I love you so much." He leaned in so that our lips were almost touching.

"I love you too B, more than anything." With that, he closed the small space between us and kissed me, pushing me back onto my bed in the process. As my back hit the mattress, my legs wrapped around his waist and my hands moved to his hair. One thing led to another and my child appropriate outfit ended up discarded across the room as Butch and I got to an adult activity.

We had completely forgotten about our company downstairs until the door swung open, eliciting a scream from both Butch and me.

"Fuck! Get out!" I screamed the first words that came to mind, Butch being the only barrier between me and our forgotten guests.

"I'm sorry! Shit! I'm so sorry!" Bradley was quick to cover his eyes and ran into a wall trying to get out of my room.

"Bradley! Are you ok?" Kit helped him up and they moved out of the room, closing the door behind them. Butch and I clung to each other, waiting for our heart rates to slow down before moving apart to get dressed.

Bradley's POV

I sat outside of Buttercup's room, hating myself for being so stupid. "Fuck, now she's gonna hate me… I'm so fucking stupid, I'm sorry Kit. I really do want to be her friend." Kit looked at me with an amused smirk on her face.

"She's not gonna hate you. She probably just panicked because they obviously forgot that we were sitting downstairs. They're probably gonna walk out-" before Kitty could finish her sentence, the door opened and a fully dressed Buttercup stepped out, her face slightly flushed in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry about that, I'm just not having a great morning." Butch walked out, also fully dressed a few seconds later.

"No we're so sorry, we should've at least knocked." I felt bad thinking I was part of the reason her morning was so bad.

"Bradley. I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time this morning, I don't hate you… I'll make breakfast." I watched the unusually quiet girl as she walked downstairs towards the kitchen.

"Umm… is Buttercup okay?" Kitty voiced her concerns to Butch as soon as Buttercup moved out of earshot. I turned my attention to him as well, also concerned for the girl.

"I'm honestly not sure… She had a nightmare earlier and it really shook her up. She might still be thinking about it." My eyes widened at the thought of the seemingly fearless superhero having a fear that big.

"What's she scared of? I thought she wasn't scared of anything." I looked to Butch to get an answer, but I heard a small voice behind me, beating him to it.

"Spiders." I whipped my head around and made eye contact with a timid looking Buttercup. Before I could even respond, she spoke up again.

"Waffles, pancakes, french toast, or crepes? I already know what everyone else wants." I recovered from my shock and managed to reply to her.

"Oh, I'll take a waffle. Thanks." She nodded and looked back up at me.

"Want any fruit? How do you like your eggs? And is bacon okay for you?" I couldn't help but smile at her impersonation of a waitress.

"I'll have strawberries on top, I'll take them scrambled and bacon is fine." She flashed a very convincing fake smile and walked back into the kitchen. I looked at the other two and saw that they didn't even notice. How long has she been hiding how she really feels?

I decided against bringing it up and started up a conversation to break the silence.

"So is she good at cooking?" Both Butch and my girlfriend snapped their gaze onto me.

"No, she's not just good. Good isn't a strong enough word to describe how well she cooks. She makes the kind of meals where you would rather eat at home than at a restaurant." Kitty raved on about Buttercup's cooking and it only built onto the anticipation of waiting on my food.

It was about a half hour later when she called us for breakfast, her sisters having joined us a while ago. I couldn't have possibly prepared myself for what I saw on the table. Everyone ran towards their seat, a beautifully plated meal in front of each of them.

I could only stare in awe at the waffle stack on my plate, perfectly topped with strawberries with strawberry syrup and whipped cream. My eyes drifted to the side with the scrambled eggs and bacon. The eggs were fluffy and the bacon perfectly crispy.

"Do you not like it..?" Buttercup fiddled with the bottom of her shirt in slight embarrassment.

"No! This is great! I'm just shocked that you're this good at cooking!" Another smile came to her face and once again I could tell it was forced.

"Glad to hear that." The middle sister took her seat between Butch and Kitty and started to eat. I turned towards my plate and dug in. They were right, she was better than good.

I wasted no time with eating my meal and it seemed nobody else did either since everyone was already finished. I watched as Buttercup got up and took everyone's plates.

"Buttercup, you made the food. I'll clean up." She turned towards me and showed another faked smile.

"Thanks Bradley, but you're the guest and you don't have to do anything." She took my plate from in front of me and walked back to kitchen. Even though she told me not to do anything, I walked after her, at least wanting to find out what was on her mind.

I walked into the kitchen to see her staring blankly at the sink, not doing anything. "A penny for your thoughts? You seem different today." Buttercup visibly flinched and turned to face me.

"Oh, hey Brad. Did you like breakfast?" I frowned at the change of subject.

"Yeah breakfast was amazing, but don't change the subject. What's wrong? Don't think I didn't notice that all of your smiles this morning were fake. I didn't want to say it in front of everyone else, but I know you do need to talk about it." Buttercup nervously shifted in place, contemplating whether she would answer or not.

"I had a really bad dream last night and I'm trying to shake it, but I just can't. It was just so realistic and I'm scared it's actually gonna happen. If it does I'm actually going to die." I flinched back in shock. I knew she had a nightmare, but I didn't think it was that bad!

"Do you want to talk about it? I can keep this conversation between us." She looked to be thinking it over, stuck between telling me or not.

"I was doing another one of those stupid things and Butch got killed because of it. I'm just scared that I'm gonna get one of you guys killed, even if it isn't Butch. I think I'm just gonna start doing all this crazy shit alone without telling anyone. Starting after today of course because I have to go by myself anyways." My eyes widened at her confession.

"Buttercup. If you leave everyone out of this, you're gonna get yourself killed!" She looked up with me, a sad smile on her face.

"I'm not really seeing the problem… That's what you've wanted from me since you first met me anyways right? Leave everyone else out of it? Well you're trying to get along with me, so I'm trying to get along with you. As long as I keep everyone else out of it, they'll be safe." I frowned as she brought up what I wanted.

"I want you to be alive. I don't want you to get yourself killed because you're still hanging on to what I said out of fear for Kitty's safety. And don't talk about yourself as if your life doesn't matter, because there are five other people in this house right now who would die if you got yourself killed." She looked up from the ground and flashed me a genuine smile.

"Thanks Brad." I smiled back to her and gave her a hug, glad to finally be getting along with the girl.

"Okay now let's get these dishes done." We shared a smile and got to work.

Kitty's POV

I sat back and looked at the satisfied faces of everyone else at the table, the peace breaking as soon as we heard the sound of Buttercup screaming.

We all ran into the kitchen to see Bradley with soap suds all over his shirt and spraying Buttercup with the faucet. They both froze as they heard the sound of the door opening. The looks on their faces were priceless, like two kids caught with their hands in the liquor cabinet.

"He/She started it!" They both screamed in sync, pointing at the other. Immediately they turned to the other and stared in disbelief.

"No, you started it!" Once again they yelled in sync.

"You threw soap bubbles at me! How did I start it?" Bradley was the first to throw out an accusation.

"You sprayed me with the faucet!" Buttercup was quick to defend herself.

"Only because you dried your hands on my shirt!" Bradley retaliated.

"Only because you turned on the water and got my hands wet!" Buttercup yelled back at him.

"That's how you wash dishes! I was supposed to turn on the water!" Bradley slapped his face in exasperation.

"Well- you started it!" Buttercup went back to her original claim, but Blossom cut the argument.

"This is childish! You guys aren't five, you're both adults. You can both clean up and afterwards you can change into dry clothes." Both Buttercup and Bradley looked at eachother and smirked at each other. Before we could fixture out why, Buttercup threw bubbles at us and Bradley started spraying water towards us.

All of us started screaming and eventually, they stopped.

"Ok Buttercup, let's actually clean up now. This is atrocious." Bradley finally came to his senses and realized it was time to clean up. Buttercup, however started laughing, her wet hair stuck to her face, bubbles all up her arms.

"Never!" With that, my best friend took off, but slipped on a wet spot and busted her ass on the floor. "Oww…" The black haired girl whined as everyone else in the room laughed at her.

Buttercup's POV

After my little… accident, I was forced to help clean up all the soap and water that flooded the kitchen. Bradley and I walked upstairs to change and I looked for another kid friendly outfit. I decided on a pair of ripped black capris and a light blue v neck, finished with the same black sandals. I redid my hair to fall in loose curls and fixed any of my makeup that was smudged.

Once approving my look, I ran back downstairs and sat next to Butch. "No green today?" Butch asked me as he slipped his arm around my waist.

"Nope, I'm switching it up a little bit. You mind?" I smiled at him and put my hand over his.

"As long as you don't change yourself I love it." I could only smile and kiss him lightly after his comment. He pulled me closer to him and eventually I fell asleep against him without noticing.

Bradley's POV

Even though cleaning up the whole kitchen was a pain, I couldn't deny that I had a good time… even if it was the most childish thing I had done in years. After changing, I walked downstairs to see Buttercup curled up against Butch. The girl really was just a big child forced to grow up too fast.

I had never really thought about the fact that their childhood was always interrupted by their responsibility to the city. I moved my attention towards my girl and sat next to her.

"I'm back." Kitty scooted closer to me and I draped my arm over her shoulder.

"Hey babe. I see you found a way to bond with Buttercup." I smiled at the memory of the kitchen war and kissed the top of Kit's head.

"I told you I would, and you're right. She is a really good person, funny too." I looked over towards her and saw her sleeping peacefully, a huge contrast from the nightmare she had this morning.

"I'm glad you're finally getting along with her." I grabbed Kitty's hand and led her out of the house.

"Let's get lunch for everyone. They've been taking care of us and letting us stay at their house." My girlfriend smiled a genuinely happy smile and it made me feel warm knowing that I caused it.

"That's a great idea! Buttercup loves Chinese takeout, we can get that for everyone."

Buttercup's POV

I woke up to the smell of my favorite food ever: Chinese takeout.

"Chinese takeout!" I all but screamed as I shot out of Butch's grasp. I heard laughing in the kitchen and ran in to see Kit and Bradley holding bags of my favorite food.

"Thank you! You guys are the best!" I launched myself into them, hugging both at once. I only smiled bigger when I got two hugs back.

"Well, you've done so much for us and we wanted to repay you somehow. We hope this covers it." Bradley was the one to speak and I only smiled bigger and released them, jumping slightly in excitement.

"Covers it? This more than covers it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I grabbed the bag they held out to me and sat at the table, impatiently waiting for everyone else to sit down.

It took a few minutes, but once everyone got their food, I dug in, finishing in under 10 minutes.

After finishing, I looked to the clock and almost panicked. It was 6:15 and the party was 30 minutes away. I wasn't allowed to be late.

"Shit! I have to go! Thank you so much for the food, I love all of you, and I'll see you when I get home around 10:30!" I ran out to the car, only stopping to give Butch a quick goodbye kiss.

Once I got in my car, I threw it in reverse, buckling up as my car pulled out of the driveway. Without any hesitation, I sped off towards my destination. With all the speeding I was doing, I was able to get there a few minutes before the party started.

It felt weird actually showing up to a party on time since I typically showed up a half hour late. I looked over myself and fixed my wind whipped hair before getting out of my car.

I slowly walked up to the door and knocked hesitantly, mentally preparing myself for whatever I had to do tonight. Whatever scenarios I came up with couldn't have possibly prepared me for what I saw when the door opened: a boy around my age and his father.

"Oh hello! You must be here for my son's birthday, come in!" My heart started to beat harder and could only pray that there was a six year old in a different room.

"So where's the birthday boy?" I crossed my fingers hoping that he had a different son, but they both laughed at me.

"Why he's right here!" The older man pushed the boy closer towards me and I fought down my instinct to punch the guy.

"It's his 18th birthday and he's always been quite infatuated with you. When we got a call from an old friend saying we could have you for the night I just knew it would make Henry's birthday the best one ever." I swallowed the lump in my throat and fiddled with the rips in my jeans.

"A… a friend?" I could've sworn my heart stopped when both of their eyes flashed yellow.

"Yes. And to our understanding, you're at our mercy until 10." I choked back a scream and texted Butch behind my back.

'Bday boy is actually 18 and friends w/ HIM. Not feeling too lucky anymore'

Before I could hit send, the father teleported my phone to his hand and crushed it. Fuck.

"You won't need this. Henry will lead you to the master room." I held back tears as I followed Henry and watched the shards of my phone drop to the floor.

The boy led me up to a big room with a fancy king sized bed and only the fanciest antique furniture.

"Wh-why did you bring me in here? What kind of birthday party takes place in a bedroom?" The boy snapped around to face me and grabbed my shoulders hard.

"I'm an adult now and you're here to help me feel like a man." My eyes widened and I started to panic.

"I have a boyfriend! I can't fuck you because I only fuck him!" The new adult's eyes flashed yellow and he pinned me to the bed.

"If you want your daddy to stay alive, you'll sit back like the little whore you are and let me fuck you like only a real man can." I didn't even bother trying to hold back my tears as they spilled down my cheeks.

"I fucking hate you! You're a fucking disgusting scumbag! I hope you break your fucking dick!" Henry leaned in closer and licked the tears from my cheeks and I had to hold myself back from puking.

"Cooperate sweetheart. I want you to kiss me like you mean it and I want you to fuck me until I tell you to stop." I clenched my jaw and reminded myself who I was doing this for.

*MATURE CONTENT*

I took a deep breath and leaned in to kiss him, forcing myself to pretend it was Butch. I choked back a sob as he moved his hands to my chest and started grinding into me.

He moved one hand from my chest to force my mouth open so he could stick his tongue in. I thought about biting it off, but I couldn't risk the professor getting killed so I forced myself to respond. I felt more tears roll down my cheeks as I felt his hands start to pull my shirt up. He pulled away from me and literally ripped my shirt off.

I moved to cover myself up, but he pinned my hands above my head. "Keep them there." I clenched my jaw and let more tears slide down my face.

He moved his head down to my stomach and licked my stomach and began to kiss and suck at my chest when he got there, leaving multiple hickeys. I let out a squeak of protest when he started to remove my bra, earning me a glare and a hard slap to the face.

"I'm in charge here and I'll do what I want." I let out a choked sob and nodded pitifully.

The boy continued to remove my bra and started to grab and suck on my boobs. I started to cry shamelessly as I felt him start to grind into me again, knowing it wasn't Butch.

I guess he didn't like my crying because he flipped me so my back was facing him and slapped my ass hard. I squeaked from the pain I felt from it and held back protests as he started to pull my pants off.

Once he had me completely naked, he smacked my ass again, but harder than the last time. I let out a small scream and moved to cover myself, a huge mistake. For my disobedience, I received a painful punch to the side of my face.

"Stop that!" My protests only earned me another to the other side and he pressed himself against me.

"Listen toots, here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna keep your mouth shut while I fuck you until I have to let you go. You listen to everything I say, or your daddy is as good as dead." I let out the sob I was holding back and accepted my fate for the night.

"Now, get on your knees and suck my dick." I closed my eyes and swallowed my pride for my dad. He pulled down his pants as I kneeled down in front of him, his dick right in front of my face. I gagged at the thought of sticking it in my mouth, but his harsh voice cut me out of my thoughts.

"Suck it now you fucking whore!" I tensed at the name, but held myself back from killing the demon in front of me. I reached out and grabbed his dick a little harder than necessary, earning a nice kick to the stomach.

"Don't try that again bitch!" I growled at him and reluctantly sucked at the tip of his cock before taking the rest of it in my mouth. I felt his hands move to the back of my head and pull my hair from my face.

"You better make this good."

I pulled away from his dick and licked it from his balls to the tip before sticking it in my mouth again, curling my tongue around the bottom and moving up and down on it.

Before I could even figure out what was going on, he started to fuck my mouth, forcing his dick to the back of my throat. Before he could even get off, he pulled out and slammed me on the bed roughly.

"Now lay back and let me fuck you until I can't fuck you anymore." My eyes widened and I screamed when he slammed into me. I let tears fall once again and continued to cry silently as he continued to thrust into me without a worry in the world. I closed my eyes and tried to take my mind off of it, but there was no way I possibly could.

My body shook as he moved even faster and right when I thought he was almost done, he pulled out and flipped me over, smacking my ass. My eyes widened and i screamed in pain as he stuck it in my ass.

The pain only got worse as he got faster and pulled my hair hard.

I couldn't stop myself from crying as I felt him release inside of me. Before pulling out, he leaned forward and whispered in my ear.

"Now you're going to make out with me and you aren't gonna whine or bitch about it!" He immediately pulled out and forced his mouth to mine, choking me hard, only letting go seconds before I passed out. I opened my mouth to gasp for air and he took the opportunity to stick his tongue in my mouth. I choked back the urge to throw up and kissed him back like he told me to, curling my tongue around his and hoping it would end soon.

*End Mature Scene*

Henry pulled away and threw me to the ground and gave me my clothes.

"Get out. It's ten and my mom is gonna be home soon." I didn't skip a beat and threw on my clothes, running out to my car. Once I got in the driver's seat, I realized that my shirt was destroyed and decided to just drive without it on.

I took a minute to calm down on the side of the road, but it backfired and I ended up crying like a baby in my car. I felt like a cheating whore even though I knew I didn't really have another choice. How was I gonna tell Butch what happened? Would he even believe me?

I couldn't go home tonight. I couldn't face everyone after the night I had. Once my decision was made, I locked my car and crawled in the back to sleep. So much for an easy challenge…

Professor's POV

Tears streamed down my face as I watched my daughter get brutally raped. There was no way in hell that I would ever consider that consensual. This was all my fault and I felt awful for being the reason she had to do it. My heart broke more each time he used me as a threat.

"Why are you doing this to her? I thought it was a child's birthday party!" He only grinned ear to ear and looked at me with amusement filled eyes.

"That was the goal! She would have been able to mentally prepare herself if she knew it was my 18 year old nephew! It's a present to both me and him!" I glared at the cross dressing demon as I watched Buttercup cry herself to sleep pitifully in the back of her car.

"You're sick. You're going to pay for this when she completes your challenges. I won't make her hold back. I'll let her rip you to shreds!" HIM's smirk dropped to a nasty scowl as I spoke against him.

"She won't make it through the challenges! You're going to watch your little girl die whether it's on the screen or right in front of you."

Butch's POV

It was 11 and I hadn't even gotten a call or text from her.

"Didn't she say she'd be back around 10:30? It's 11! She usually at least tells me if she's running late!" Everyone was sitting in the living room, waiting for her to come home.

"She went to a child's party, her phone probably just died and she probably got stuck in traffic." Blossom tried to be reasonable but it was obvious that she was also concerned for her sister.

"But what if she's hurt? She doesn't have her powers to defend herself!" Everyone looked down in worry and Blossom finally spoke up again.

"Let's go to bed. We can leave a key under the mat at the front door. If she isn't back by morning we can look for her." Everyone nodded in agreement, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad happened to her.

AN: okayy so that took so much longer than I expected and hopefully I can crank out the next chapter faster. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review!


	14. Challenge 13

AN: Be prepared for a lot of drama this chapter. I hope the wait wasn't too long and hope you enjoy!

Chapter 13:Challenge 13

Buttercup's POV

I woke up in the back of my car and all the events from last night replayed in my head. My eyes started to tear up and I looked down at all of the bruises I had acquired from… the activities of the night before.

I climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. I had to go home eventually.

Butch's POV

I woke up to the sound of an argument coming from the floor beneath me. With my super hearing, it wasn't hard to pick out Blossom's enraged voice. Had Bubbles done something?

"What is actually wrong with you? Do you have no morals at all? Do you have any decency? Do you have any consideration for anyone other than yourself? I can't believe I'm related to you! You didn't even call or text anyone last night and then you have the audacity to come back home looking like this! I don't know what's going on with you, but you better fix it fast Buttercup!" At the mention of my girlfriends name, I flew down the stairs at top speed, only to stop in my tracks when I saw her without a shirt and covered in sex bruises. She went to a kid's birthday party, there was no way this was part of the challenge. I immediately felt hurt, anger, and betrayal hit me all at once.

"I didn't know you liked to be choked babe!" I practically spit out the pet name and sent her a nasty glare. She flinched and looked up at me, unshed tears building up in her eyes. I didn't feel bad, there were tears in mine too and she caused them.

"Butch I sw-swear this isn't what it looks like!" Before she could even elaborate, I cut her off.

"Don't give me that bullshit! I know what you had to do last night and fucking someone else wasn't part of it!" A few tears fell down her face and she tried desperately to talk.

"Butch you d-don't u-" I didn't even let her finish her sentence because I knew what she was about to say would piss me off even more.

"No. You don't understand! I understand better than anyone. I also understand that you fucked another guy last night and you don't have any excuse for it! You didn't even fucking text me last night to tell me you wouldn't be home! That just proves you were trying to hide something!" At this point she was crying hysterically and although it hurt me to see her like that, she hurt me and she deserved it.

"Butch, p-please just l-et me ex-explain!" I glared at her and walked past her to the door.

"And to think I ever loved you." She let out a heart wrenching sob and screamed to me.

"Butch p-please!" I didn't even turn around, but after I closed the door after myself, I let out a few tears of my own.

I stayed outside the door and listened to her heartbroken sobs and her know it all sister still berating her.

"That's what happens when you cheat on someone Buttercup! Stop crying because this is your fault! You can't just keep walking around acting like a whore and expect people to still like you!" I cringed at the pained scream that came from my now ex girlfriend. That was enough, i shot into the sky not wanting to hear anymore.

Buttercup's POV

I couldn't even find the strength to get off the ground after Butch left and Blossom calling me a whore, my own sister, just made me want to die. I buried my face in the carpet and cried as hard as I could, hoping it could ease the pain at least a little bit.

The sound of footsteps came down the stairs quickly and I heard Bubbles fly to the living room.

"Oh my god! What's going on here?" Kit was the first to speak up, but I couldn't stop myself from crying to speak for myself.

"This little slut didn't come home last night because she was too busy cheating on Butch! Now she's crying because he dumped her." I only cried harder, not being able to tell them how wrong she was. I felt myself get picked up and slammed back on the ground. Flashbacks of last night invaded my mind and I started struggling and crying even harder if possible.

"Buttercup! How could you do that to Butch! You ruined your romantic fantasy for your stupid need for attention!" I expected this from Blossom, but not Bubbles.

"Stop. Let us talk to her alone for a moment." Kit spoke up and walked over towards me and lifted me up, placing my face on her shoulder. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and tried to get it all out. My chest clenched (in a good way) as she hugged me back.

"It'll be okay, just calm down and walk up to your room with me and Bradley." I nodded and pulled away from her shoulder and walked up the stairs, trying my best to calm myself down.

After I got in my room I collapsed Indy bed and started crying again once I felt the warm sheets where Butch was sleeping not even an hour ago.

"Buttercup, you need to calm down and tell us what happened." Kit tried to calm me down, but I don't think I could calm down if I tried at this point.

"He- he said he'd n-never le-ave me! I di-didn't want to d-d-do it! I-I didn't m-mean to! They br-oke my ph-phone so I coul-couldn't text anyone!" Kit was quick to cut me off.

"What?"

Kitty's POV

I looked over my best friend and saw bruises everywhere. Her face had dark bruises on each side, bruises covered her neck in the shape of hands, multiple hickeys covered her chest, she had a painfully large one on her stomach, and hand shaped bruises on each wrist.

"Hold on Buttercup, did someone rape you?" There was no way she would willingly let someone hurt her like this.

"N-not exactly… does blackmail co-count?" My stomach knotted up in sympathy for the girl sitting in front of me.

"Yes. Blackmail counts. If you didn't want to do it, but had to anyways, it's rape. Who did this to you?" She moved her gaze to the floor and scrunched her nose.

"I'm not allowed to tell…" I could tell she was scared I wouldn't believe her, but I could identify with her more than she knew.

"It's okay. You know I completely understand what you're going through." She sent me a watery glare and I could tell she was trying hard not to cry again.

"How could you possibly understand?" I returned her glare even though I knew she couldn't really deal with an argument.

"Because I was raped before too Buttercup! You can stop throwing yourself a pity party now because bad things happen to other people too!" Her glare darkened and for a second I thought she was going to yell at me.

"So what motherfucker do I have to kill? Who did that to you?" I looked in surprise as she was willing to put her own feelings aside to protect me.

"Buttercup it happened a long time ago and the guy is dealing with life in prison now." Her eyes narrowed and she looked away from us.

"So what happened?" She didn't look at me, but I knew she actually wanted to know.

"It was after I left a movie theater, the same place I met Bradley. On my way home, I was dragged off by some guy and was raped for three hours before anyone found me. He forced me to do everything and said he would kill me if I didn't. I don't even know who found me because I passed out when someone showed up. All I know is that I woke up in the hospital and Bradley was there even though I only met him the night before. The guy was given life in prison on the spot and that's also how Bradley and I got together!" It was a little hard to look back on, but as I looked at Buttercup I could tell it didn't really help.

"How is that supposed to help? I'm really sorry that happened to you, but you had a happy ending! I lost my boyfriend and my sisters! They all hate me! You understand what happened to me, but they don't and they aren't even willing to listen! H-how am I s-supposed to live l-ike this? I would literally be do-doing ever-yone a fa-favor if I just died! You're the o-only ones who would even dis-disagree with me, but you two w-would be so much b-bett-er off without me d-dragging you into my m-m-mess of a li-fe!" I started to cry as my best friend began to have yet another emotional breakdown. Bradley got up and sat next to her, pulling her face into his shoulder and wrapped his other arm around her back.

"Buttercup, it's going to be okay, I promise you. Nobody wants you dead and we aren't going to let you die. And if anything, all your crazy stunts just make our lives more interesting." I walked over and sat on the other side of her as she clutched onto Bradley's shirt and cried harder. She pulled away from my boyfriend and threw up in the nearest trash can before continuing her breakdown.

Bradley and I looked to each other in concern. Was she really hurt enough to throw up?

Buttercup's POV

The pain in my chest was enough to actually make me want to throw up, so I did. Kit and Brad were the only two people I had left and they couldn't understand everything I was actually going through. While it definitely helped that Kit could understand some of my struggle, I couldn't tell her that my dad's life was constantly on the line. I couldn't tell her everything I had to do but didn't want to. I couldn't tell her who was behind all this crazy shit I had to do and the worst part was that I knew it was only a matter of time before he turned them against me too.

All the thoughts rushing through my head caused my chest to clench painfully. Yet again, I threw up and continued crying. It was time to quit, my life wasn't even worth living anymore.

I laid on the floor until I couldn't make myself cry anymore.

"Thanks for being here guys, but I need to get some clothes on." They got the hint and walked outside my room to give me some privacy.

I looked down at myself in disgust and threw all of my dirty clothes off, not ever wanting to see them again. I got in the shower and scrubbed at my skin until I felt clean, but I gave up once the water went cold and I realized I still felt just as dirty as before. I got out of the shower and picked up the red note on my dresser.

'Well Good Morning even though yours seemed pretty rough. I didn't plan for your sisters to turn against you or Butch to break up with you, but it definitely worked in my favor to see you cry like the little bitch you are. It's always a good day- no, a perfect day- when I can see you cry. Well your challenge today is to be honest. I want you to wear revealing clothing and spend the day in Townsville. The catch? When anyone asks what happened to you, tell them the truth. Tell them you got them from having sex with a stranger. Let Townsville know how much of a whore you really are.'

My eyes burned and I felt a few more tears slide down my face. Maybe it was time to give up. I dressed in a pair of white denim shorts and a big black t-shirt. I put my hair up in a messy bun and slipped on a pair of running shoes.

I stepped out of my room and looked to the last two people who cared about me.

"I'm heading out. Love you guys." I gave Kit and Brad a long hug before walking out to my car, but before I could go, they blocked my way.

"Where are you going?" I quickly thought up a lie and immediately felt awful.

"Just getting plan B. He didn't use a fucking condom and I don't feel like getting pregnant." They looked at me suspiciously, but stepped out of the way.

"Okay see you when you get back." I wouldn't be coming back.

"Love you guys, thanks for always being there for me. Really it means a lot." I started to tear up as I walked out of the house and got in my car.

Once out of the driveway, I started my route to HIM's lair. It was a smooth drive and I hopped out of the car and walked into the lair without hesitation. The second I got through the doors, I saw my dad sitting in a chair, looking up to see who came through the door.

"Buttercup? What are you doing here?" I took in a shaky breath and let it out.

"Where's HIM?" His eyes widened. He was a smart man and he was well aware of what I planned to do.

"Buttercup, don't do this. Leave before he finds out you're here! I promise I'll help clear your name after this is over." I choked on a sob and shook my head.

"Dad, I'm doing everyone a favor here. You don't want to die. I do. Nobody even cares about me anymore except you, Kit, and Brad. They have each other to get over it and you have Bubbles and Blossom." He shook his head and tears built up in his eyes.

"Buttercup, you have a boyfriend and your sisters love you!" That statement alone made me want to throw up again.

"No. Butch dumped me and Bubbles and Blossom made it very clear they were disgusted by my existence. I told you who cared about me and that was the full list. Now let me do something right for a change. I'm not the tough girl you knew anymore. I'm done. I'm done with doing all this, I'm done with all the judgement, I'm done with feeling this way, and I'm done with living! I already feel dead so let me just finish the job! Please…" He looked at me in disbelief and guilt.

"I can't let you do this. At least give it a day to get better. I really don't want to lose you Buttercup. It's hard for me to watch you suffer just like it's hard for you to deal with all of this." I scrunched my face and failed to hold back tears.

"Then why not just let me go?" I didn't take my eyes off of him.

"If I let you go now then I have no chance of ever seeing you happy again." I shook my head.

"Dad, I'll never be happy again, but I promise to give you one last smile if you let me do this." He offered me a small smile.

"Buttercup, if you do this. I'll kill myself as soon as I get out of here." I screamed in anguish. Why couldn't he just let me save him.

"Stop being like this! I'm trying to help you! I'm trying to help Townsville! I'm trying to help my sisters! I'm trying to help myself! Why can't you just let me do this! You think you won't, but you'll be fine! We were going to leave for college after summer anyways! Just pretend I'm going to college or something and refuse to come home for break! I'll probably just end up killing myself after these challenges anyways so why prolong it?" I just wanted the professor to go along with it, but he refused.

"Give it another day Buttercup. You might not feel it right now, but you're stronger than this. By feeling like this, you're giving HIM exactly what he wants. Go back home and complete the challenges. I don't want to see you under these circumstances again. Understand?" I looked to my feet, suddenly ashamed of myself for acting so out of character. I just hadn't felt this hurt, well… ever.

"Yes dad. Understood. I promise I'll get you out of here." I gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek before running to the drug store to get what I said I was. Before walking in, I grabbed a hat from the back of my car and put it on to hide my face.

I walked into the store and bought the pill, thanking anyone who would listen that nobody recognized me. I felt bad for taking so long and I was sure Kit and Brad were worried, especially since the drug store was only five minutes away by car.

Once I opened the door to my house, I was practically attacked by my last two friends and struggled to get free of their little group hug.

"We were scared you left to kill yourself or something! I'm so glad you came back! What took you so long." Shit, I had no excuse. Guess I had to make one up.

"There was a really long line… I gotta go get changed… again." I left before they could ask any more questions and decided to complete my challenge for the day. I kept on my shorts, but changed into a gray crop t shirt and black sandals. I looked in the mirror and decided to pass on makeup. I didn't really care enough.

I dragged myself out of my room for the second time today and snuck down the steps, hoping to avoid my sisters who were in the living room, facing the other way. Either they didn't hear me, or they just didn't care enough to turn around because I managed to reach the door without them saying anything.

Kit and Brad were standing right outside the door when I opened it to leave.

"Buttercup. Are you leaving?" Kit looked surprised to see me leaving yet again.

"You're wearing pretty revealing clothes for someone who's all bruised up." Bradley commented on my new outfit, earning a smack and a disapproving glare from Kit.

"Yeah. I'm gonna spent the day in Townsville, get my mind off of everything." I was actually going for the exact opposite, but they didn't have to know that. They looked concerned, but decided against saying anything.

"Okay, just text us if you need anything." I let out a humorless laugh and turned to walk to my car.

"I don't have a phone." I didn't even wait for a response and hopped in my car, not wanting to walk through the suburbs. They didn't say anything else and I took it as my cue to leave. I pulled out of my driveway and was on my way to Townsville.

Kitty's POV

I looked after Buttercup as she drove off, hoping she would be okay. I jumped a little as I felt a hand on my shoulder, but relaxed when I realized it was Bradley.

"Calm down babe, she's gonna be fine. We should probably talk to her sisters though." I nodded, my eyes still on the road where she left.

"Yeah, we should." I turned my gaze back to Bradley and walked inside to be met with the very people we needed to talk to.

"Oh hey you two, I thought you left." Bubbles smiled at us, but her happy expression dropped when we didn't smile back.

"Why would you treat your sister like that?" Blossom's confused look turned into a hateful glare at the mention of the black haired girl.

"She's a whore! She cheated on Butch who was so good to her! She didn't even have the decency to tell us she wasn't going to come home!" I clenched my fist and felt my temper start to bubble. I couldn't imagine if people said this about me when I was raped!

"You're a Bitch! You turn your back on your sister when she needs you the most! You don't even have the common courtesy to hear her side of the story before jumping to conclusions!" Bubbles, to my surprise came to her sister's defense.

"Don't talk to Blossom like that! It's kinda obvious what happened and her trying to lie to us would only make it worse! We told Buttercup to stop acting the way she has been lately and she's only been acting out more since then!" Bradley all but had to hold me back as I fumed at their ignorance.

"You're both awful! What if you were in her position? What if you had nobody on your side? What if everything suddenly went wrong and everyone you thought you could lean on for support suddenly disappeared?" Bubbles looked like she was starting to come around, but Blossom spoke up before she could think too much.

"It wouldn't happen to either of us because we aren't the attention desperate whore that Buttercup is! She's always been the troublemaker out of us and I'm sure the Professor would back me up if he were here right now!" Bubbles's glare covered her thoughtful look from before.

"She had the perfect fairytale relationship and she ruined it in the most cruel and disgusting way ever! Butch would've done anything for her and she betrayed him!" I opened my mouth to say something, but Bradley's hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"They're too ignorant for us to talk any sense into them. Let's just pack Buttercup's stuff and we'll let her stay with us until she feels welcome here again." He looked over to Buttercup's sisters.

"Well, I hope this makes you happy because nobody else is smiling." He put his arm around my waist and led me up to Buttercup's room so we could get her stuff together.

"So they really aren't going to think about how she feels?" I looked at Bradley, tears of sympathy in my eyes. Buttercup couldn't find out about how badly her sisters think of her.

"I guess not. You can pack her clothes and I'll pack her bathroom stuff." I nodded and pulled a suitcase from her closet, packing multiple outfits that I could see her wearing along with a few pairs of shoes. Bradley soon came out with a bag full of her toiletries.

"Let's pack this in the car and we can wait for her in the driveway." I nodded my head and we switched bags to carry to the car.

Buttercup's POV

I honestly started to forget about my challenge as I walked around the city, stopping to buy a few things that caught my eye. Then a middle aged woman jerked me around to face her as I walked past her and her kids.

"Where are all of these bruises from?" The Challenge flashed through my memory and I thought about how I could phrase this.

"Well?" She had disgusted look on her face.

"Looks like you already know. So tell me, where do you think they're from?" I spoke to the judgemental woman coldly. She didn't know anything.

"Well they look like they're from adult activity." I caught the glance she sent each of her two kids as she avoided the word she was thinking.

"Adult activities like sex?" I bent down to face her kids and continued talking. "Your mommy thinks these bruises are from sex. Well, she's right and if you don't know what sex is, ask her. Don't go for that 'it's when a man and woman love eachother very much' because that's not always the case." I stood back up and made direct eye contact with the now enraged and disgusted woman in front of me. "Have fun at family dinner tonight. Try not to be so judgemental next time." Her jaw dropped and I walked away, not showing how desperate I felt for just someone to look at me with something other than hate and disgust.

I could feel the glare of every person in the city on my back and I needed to escape, even if just for a little while. I ran across the street and ducked into a small liquor store. I ran straight towards the bathrooms, but bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry." I whimpered out and moved past the person, not even looking up to see who it was.

"Fuckin' whore." I froze and the events of last night and this morning flashed through my mind. Tears fell down my cheeks along with a sob. I ran to the bathroom, breaking down to a hysterical mess as soon as I locked the stall. I didn't have to see the person to know who said it. I would recognize Butch's voice anywhere. The thought of him hating me actually caused a pain in my stomach that made me want to throw up, which I did.

This was a new low. Crying on a public bathroom floor from complete and utter heartbreak. My breathing hitched at the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Are you ok miss?" The sound of another woman rang through the bathroom. I pulled myself off the floor and splashed my face with water before opening the door to face whoever was out there.

"Yeah. Just fine, thanks for asking." I refused to make eye contact and moved past her and walked back outside, wishing I had just stayed out here in the first place. Once again I could feel the heat of several glares on me, but none of them stung as bad as what Butch had said in the store.

It wasn't long before someone stopped me again. "What happened to you?" A guy who couldn't have been older than 25 stopped me with his question, but I could tell he wasn't concerned for my well being. I braced myself for the hurtful words that would more than likely follow the explanation I had to give.

"Oh these bruises? Yeah I got them from the guy who fucked me last night." I spat out bitterly and started to walk away, hoping he just wouldn't say anything.

"Wow, what a Slut!" He laughed along with a few other guys who I guessed were his friends. I turned my hurt look back to the ground and started to walk again.

"Mommy! Look it's Buttercup!" I allowed myself a small sliver of happiness from the excitement in the girl's voice, but the next thing I heard crushed any happiness I managed to find.

"Yeah I saw. Keep walking sweetie, she's not a hero." I froze where I was standing and coughed to cover up a sob that escaped me. I started to hear all the conversations around me and I began to panic.

"Just another child star gone bad."

"She's just so… ew!"

"No sweetie, stay away from that one."

"Nobody even likes her."

"This city would be better off without her."

"She looks so pathetic!"

"The world would be better off without her!"

"I heard she cheated on her boyfriend."

"She's such a skank."

"I don't know what that guy ever saw in her in the first place. I heard he finally dumped her sorry ass."

"Slut."

"Bad influence"

"Whore"

"Bitch"

"Skank"

"Trashy"

"Disappointment"

"Unfortunate"

"Hoe"

"Disgusting"

"Whore"

"Whore"

"Whore"

The street seemed to be spinning and could hear everyone's words repeating over and over again. My breathing quickened to a rapid pace and no matter where I looked, someone was glaring at me.

I tried to move, but wherever I walked I bumped into someone. I looked around and it looked like I was surrounded and everyone was closing in on me.

My heart rate picked up and I started to hyperventilate. I wanted to go home, but I knew it would be the same way there. I spotted a bench and curled up on the far right side of it, hoping people would just ignore me and keep walking. No such luck.

I couldn't tell if people were actually concerned or if they just wanted to make my life worse, but I would bet money on the second one. I could hear at least twenty voices talking about where I could have possibly got all my bruises and twenty more saying there was something wrong with me. I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up on the bench and glared down at every person who gathered around me.

"Is it too hard to just keep walking when I obviously just want to be alone? You wanna know where I got these bruises from? Well I'm sure you already know, but they're from sex!" I heard a loud collective gasp from my makeshift audience.

"Don't sit here and gasp like that's not what you assumed in the first place! You have a question? Ask me. Don't assume and talk about me behind my back! Don't think I can't hear you guys whispering, which every one of you suck at by the way! I hear everything you said anyways so you might as well just say it to my face!" Everyone froze and I stepped off the bench to push past all of them, but was stopped by a hand.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" I looked at the person addressing me and from their expression, they knew what was up. I turned away and wiped at a tear that escaped my eye.

"Had a boyfriend. He dumped me this morning. Probably because I'm such a whore. At least that's what everyone else seems to think." I pushed past the rest of the crowd and started to walk back to my car.

"Everyone thinks it because that's what you are!" A few more tears fell, but my back was turned so I just stuck my middle finger in the air, hoping he got the idea to fuck off.

Nobody bothered me on my walk back to my car. It had to have been some kind of miracle that I got back to my car without completely believing what everyone said about me.

Butch's POV

After running into my ex girlfriend in the liquor store, I left to get all my stuff from her house. I pulled up to the Utonium household and was surprised to see Kitty and Bradley sitting in their car, doing nothing. I wondered what they thought of the lying bitch called Buttercup.

Since she wasn't here, I knocked on the door and for once, I was glad to see that Blossom opened it.

"Hey Butch, why are you here?" She must've thought I was looking for her backstabbing sister.

"I'm here because she isn't. I need to get my stuff that I left in her room." Blossom moved out of my way and I walked up to her room, determined to get out of here as soon as possible.

I froze as I opened her door and saw that her room was nearly empty. Had her sister's kicked her out? I opened her closet and grabbed all the clothes and shoes I had left here then moved to the bathroom. Nothing was in there except my stuff. I shook the weird feeling I had and put my bathroom stuff in the bag I brought with me.

I walked out of the bathroom, but a red note on her dresser caught my attention. I read over it and scoffed. Even the fucking devil knew she was a whore. I put the note back down on the table and walked out of the house only throwing up a hand to acknowledge Bubbles and Blossom.

As I walked out, I saw a black car start to pull in, but it stopped as soon as the driver caught sight of me. She didn't try to say anything, just started. I held her eye contact with a nasty glare and I followed up with a middle finger directed towards her before flying away.

Buttercup's POV

My heart hurt for every second I stared at him, but I felt like dying when he flicked me off. He really hated me and even though he was being so awful to me, I couldn't help the fact that I still loved him.

I parked my car and rested my forehead against the steering wheel. I pulled the key out of the ignition and for what had to be the 10th time today, I started to cry. I flinched from the feeling of a hand on my shoulder, but I didn't move.

"Buttercup, we packed your stuff. We think it's best if you stay with us for a little while." I looked up and locked eyes with Bradley.

"Hey, hey. It's gonna be okay, I promise." He wiped all the tears that were on my face. I offered the first smile I had given all day.

"I hope so… You guys can lead the way." Bradley smiled back at me and pulled me into a side hug and Kit kissed my cheek in a friendly gesture. I pulled out of the garage and followed them as they drove to their house.

Professor's POV

HIM moved me to a chair in front of a black screen.

"So I understand you received an unexpected visit from that daughter of yours. Hopefully she didn't spoil too much of the newest episode of Buttercup's Crash and Burn." I growled at the thought of watching what got my daughter in such a distressed state this morning.

The screen flashed on and I saw footage of my house. Buttercup nervously stood in front of the door, still looking a complete mess from the night before. I watched her take a deep breath and let herself in, only to be met with a glare from my eldest daughter who was already downstairs.

"What is actually wrong with you? Do you have no morals at all? Do you have any decency? Do you have any consideration for anyone other than yourself? I can't believe I'm related to you! You didn't even call or text anyone last night and then you have the audacity to come back home looking like this! I don't know what's going on with you, but you better fix it fast Buttercup!" My jaw dropped at how mean my seemingly sweet Blossom could really be to her sister. Buttercup wasn't crying, but I could tell her sister's words hurt her from the slight slouch in her typically tall posture.

I continued to watch and my eyes widened as Butch arrived on the scene looking conflicted. "I didn't know you liked to be choked babe!" Her eyes snapped up to his and she was already on the verge of tears. It didn't take an expert to tell this wasn't going to end well.

"Butch I sw-swear this isn't what it looks like!" Buttercup tried to explain herself, but if was clear that he wasn't having any of it.

"Don't give me that bullshit! I know what you had to do last night and fucking someone else wasn't part of it!" A few tears trailed down her face and I knew it was only going to get worse from here. I wasn't too far off on the assumption since the argument ended in Butch breaking up with her and Blossom and Bubbles blaming her for it.

No wonder she wanted to die earlier. She was being serious when she said Kit, Brad, and I were the only ones left on her side.

He skipped to the challenge, where I watched my little girl get glared at, talked down to, slut shamed, and called names by almost everyone, including Butch. He wasn't even civil towards her.

I glared at the screen as he flicked her off from the doorstep. I didn't have to see her to know how much that really hurt her. She parked in the garage and cried into her steering wheel, only stopping when Kit and Brad told her she was moving in with them.

Honestly, I didn't know how I felt about it. I wanted her to live in the home I raised her in, but at the same time, with the situation, staying with her friends is better for her.

The screen went black and I turned my glare to the crossdressing demon.

"That must've made you real happy HIM. Well they can't hate her for too long and once they make up, their relationships will be stronger than ever!" I earned a hard slap from HIM for speaking against him, but I didn't care enough for it to hurt.

"You don't know anything! You need to accept the fact that if you ever get out of here, it's going to be because you lost a daughter. None of this is going to blow over and is all goes well, I can take both of you out. Goodnight professor."

Goodnight my ass.

AN: okay so there's lots of drama in this one, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!


	15. Challenge 14

AN: Sorry for the wait! My school year just started and updates might take a lot longer. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning any stories and they will all be updated eventually. Enjoy the chapter!

? POV

Today was the day that I moved to Townsville. I honestly don't know what drew me to the problematic city, but for some reason, I felt like I had to. Townsville, here I come.

Buttercup's POV

I jerked awake in a cold sweat from the nightmare I just escaped from and all the memories of yesterday came rushing back. Suddenly the nightmare didn't seem so bad.

I slowly sat up and froze when I saw a red piece of paper from the corner of my eye. He must've known I moved in here for a while… Dragging my feet, I made my way across the room and picked up the letter that couldn't be from anyone but HIM.

'Oh hello dear! I couldn't help but notice your car. A pretty, black, priceless race car. I've always wondered how fast it could go, so here's your challenge for the day: show me how fast it can go and stay at that speed until you crash or run out of gas. I sure hope you can drive well!'

Not only was he trying to destroy all of my relationships, but now he was going for my car! There's almost no way that I could drive through Townsville at that speed and not crash. I looked to the clock beside the bed and saw that it was 4:30 AM. If there was a good time to drive like a maniac, it would be when there was nobody else on the road.

Without any hesitation, I brushed my teeth and threw my hair up in a messy bun, my bangs hanging in my face. I put on a pair of small black shorts and a tight, faded red tank top. Not wanting to wake anyone up, I snuck down the stairs quietly and left a note in case they woke up before I got back.

'Went on a car ride to clear my head.'

With that, I slipped on a pair of flip flops, grabbed my keys, and hopped in the car. After pulling out of the driveway, I stepped on the gas, shifting gears until I was at full speed, which happened to be 130mph.

Since there was next to nobody on the roads, I was able to drift into every turn like a pro racecar driver would. Though it was still early, the streets started to crowd. Now the challenge really started.

I wove between cars, the sound of car horns flooding the air. I took any spot I could get through, not crashing by some miracle. Up ahead I could see a stop light and looked around for any possible way around it and saw an alley. Yup. That'll work.

Without any room for hesitation, I turned hard into the alley. I held my horn down to warn people out of the way and soon found myself back on the road. Then I heard sirens…

Bubbles's POV

The sound of the hotline snatched me out of my dream and I fell out of my bed.

"Bubbles get the hotline!" Blossom had been in a pretty bad mood since the events of yesterday and honestly, I was too.

"Fine! I got it!" I picked up the phone and the mayor's panicked voice came across the line.

"Powerpuff Girls! There's a car going 80 miles over the speed limit and the police can't stop the car! You need to stop it, people are in danger!" I sighed to myself. The cops should be able to deal with these kinds of situations.

"We'll be right there mayor." I hung up the phone and turned to come face to face with my older sister.

"There's a car going 80 miles over and the cops can't stop it." Blossom rolled her eyes, but signaled for me to take off after her.

As soon as we got to Townsville, we could hear the many sirens. Whoever was driving this car had to be literally insane to just not stop. We saw a black blur drift into a back alley to shake a few of the cops.

I turned to Blossom for a plan and she started giving orders.

"Ok, fly in front of the car. I know it sounds crazy, but nobody wants to hit a young girl and that's exactly what you'll look like to the driver. More than likely, the driver will slam on breaks and that's when I'll pick up the car so it can't go anywhere." I was a little uneasy about the plan. It seemed a little reckless, but worst case scenario I could fly out of the way if the car doesn't stop.

We put our plan into action as a black form swerved out of the unorthodox road and back onto the highway. I landed right in front of and intersection and froze when I recognized the driver as my reckless sister, Buttercup.

Kitty's POV

The sound of blaring sirens shook me out of my sleep. I looked to my left to see Bradley hadn't slept through it either.

"What is going on?" Bradley only shrugged and looked just as confused as I did.

We both got up and walked to Buttercup's room only to find her missing! "Oh my god where is she?" Bradley wrapped his arms around my waist from behind to calm me down.

"Kitty, calm down. Maybe she's downstairs already." I let my nerves settle and followed him down to the kitchen to see him reading a note.

"Don't freak out, she's just on a morning drive to clear her head." My eyes widened as the sirens seemed to drown out all other sounds around me.

"I'm almost 100% sure she's involved in whatever is going on out there! What if she gets herself hurt or killed?" I could see anxiety in his eyes, but I could tell he was hiding it so I wouldn't freak me out.

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens Kitty. I'm worried too, but if we go out there right now we'll be putting ourselves in danger too." I nodded but I couldn't help but worry for my best friend.

?'s POV

I had finally gotten to Townsville, but as soon as I got into the city all I could hear were multiple police sirens. I thought about pulling over and waiting until they turned off, but I didn't see any cars. Honestly, I just wanted to get to my new apartment.

Buttercup's POV

My eyes widened as Bubbles landed in front of my car. I couldn't hit brakes, but I also would never forgive myself if I ever hurt her. Knowing the consequences, I closed my eyes and sharply turned the wheel to the left.

I couldn't hold in the terrified scream as my car completely flipped, but completely missed my sister. I felt the impact as my car landed upside down. The glass shattered. I felt it cut into my skin and I cried out as the car flipped again. I couldn't move. My legs were stuck. I could feel the blood dripping down my face and an unbearable pain in my legs. I couldn't even tell where I was as my car continued to flip.

Suddenly my senses were filled with headlights and screeching tires. I felt a heavy impact and screamed from the pain as the rest of my windows shattered and the world continued to spin around me. Before my car even stopped, I blacked out.

Blossom's POV

My hand flew up to my mouth as I watched the car continue to violently flip. It didn't make any sense! The driver was supposed to hit brakes! I looked down at Bubbles to see her frozen in terrified shock. The second the car came to a stop, the driver of the other car jumped out and started to run towards the now smoking scrap metal.

Bubbles and I jumped into action, holding the boy back.

"No! Let me go! That person is going to die if I don't help them! The car's gonna blow up!" Bubbles's eyes widened and she turned towards the unrecognizable vehicle.

"We need to get her out Blossom!" I looked at Bubbles like she was crazy.

"Bubbles, there's no way that person is still alive! That was the worst car crash I've ever seen, but if you want to get the person out I'll help you." I followed my little sister as she sped towards the crash, tearing apart the car. I could see her desperately prying off the doors and tearing apart the car to get the driver out.

I froze, however, when I barely recognized my middle sister hanging out of her car, covered in blood, cuts, and bruises.

Tears came to my eyes as I saw Bubbles hastily tearing at the dashboard, where her legs were trapped and crushed. I quickly joined in on ripping the car apart to free her.

Once getting her away from the danger of her totaled car, we could clearly see her heavily scarred body, glass shards and broken bones in a variety of places. The boy from earlier ran over, tears in his eyes.

"Is she gonna be okay? This is all my fault!" Bubbles was fast to comfort the horrified teen.

"We're getting her to the hospital now, and this is in no way your fault. She'll make it, she can't die. Buttercup's invincible, nothing can kill her!" It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself more than anything else.

I looked down at the limp body of my sister and realized I had to get her to the hospital soon.

"Bubbles, I need to get her to the hospital. If he wants to come, he can go with you after you let Kit and Bradley know what happened." Without waiting for a response, I took off, cradling my sister as if to protect her from the wind.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm so sorry for being so insensitive and mean to you yesterday. I didn't even listen to your side of the story and I still haven't. At this point I honestly don't care if you had sex with twelve guys last night, please just be okay." My eyes started to tear up at the thought of never being able to see my sister alive again.

I landed at the hospital and burst through the doors, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"Please! Someone needs to help her!" Almost immediately, a swarm of doctors ran to the back, all the available nurses ran over to us, and multiple patients threw up, having caught sight of Buttercup's condition.

"The doctors should be out with a bed for her in a few seconds! Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to wait out here while we try to help her." The nurses took her from my arms and I lost my composure and started crying hysterically.

"No! Th-that's my s-ister! I-I need to kn-ow sh-she's okay!" I easily could've broken past the nurses holding me back, but once she disappeared behind the doors, I lost the will to do anything but cry and pray she would make it through this one. I wouldn't be able to live with the last thing I said to her…

Bradley's POV

Kitty jolted in my arms at the sound of the doorbell and a large smile spread across her face.

"That must be Buttercup!" My girl raced towards the door and I calmly followed her. She opened the entrance, but we both froze at the sight of Bubbles and a face we hadn't seen in a long time.

"James?" He looked very conflicted and guilty.

"Hey guys. How's it hanging?" He forced a smile and I could tell he was faking his happiness in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"James. Something happened, I'm not stupid. Just tell us what's going on." His smile dropped and was replaced by a guilty look.

"I-I think I might have killed a girl…" Tears built up in his eyes and I looked to Bubbles to see her glaring at my long time friend.

"She isn't dead and she isn't going to die!" My stomach dropped a little, but I tried not to assume anything.

"What are you guys talking about? Why are you guys even here?" I kept my voice steady as to not alarm Kit, but she was already nervous based on her tight grip on my arm.

"Buttercup was in a little fender bender. She's in the hospital right now to get checked up. She's gonna be fine, but we figured you guys might want to know since she was staying with you." I could catch a hint of doubt in her voice and immediately knew this was worse than she was letting on.

"We'll come to visit her and you guys can tell me the full story on the way there." I motioned for everyone to follow me to the car. Kit hopped in the passenger seat while James and Bubbles hopped in the back. I wasted no time turning on the car and screeching out of the driveway.

"Talk." I didn't need to direct it towards anyone for them to know I wanted the story.

"Okay… So we got a call on the hotline this morning from the mayor saying that there was a car going 80 over the speed limit and the cops couldn't get the driver to pull over. We got to the scene and we saw a black car going at least 130. Blossom told me to fly in front of the car so they would hit brakes and even if they didn't I would be able to fly out of the way in time. The plan was that they would stop and she would pick up the car, but as soon as I landed in front of the car, I made eye contact with Buttercup! I prepared myself to move, but instead of her hitting brakes, she tried to swerve around me. With her car going as fast as it was, it completely flipped over and rolled into an intersection right as James was driving through it. He tried to hit brakes, but there wasn't enough time to react and he hit her car, causing it to flip a few more times. We had to rip her car apart to get her out, but she's tough. She'll be fine!" Right as Bubbles finished her story, we caught sight of what must've been her car. There were scorch marks on the ground around a ripped and crumpled piece of metal.

Her beautiful car was completely unrecognizable.

"Bubbles. Be honest. How do you really think she's doing?" I clenched my jaw at the thought of her in worse shape than her car. I cringed as I heard a sob escape the small blonde.

"I-I'm scared! I'm sc-scared I'm gonna l-lose my sis-ter! God she l-looked awful! Sh-she was trying to not hurt m-me! I w-was so awful to h-her yest-erday!" The youngest puff began to cry heavily and I stepped on the gas to go just a little faster. The last thing I wanted was to get there too late.

Blossom's POV

I was sitting in the waiting room anxiously, when Bubbles, Bradley, Kit, and the boy from the crash burst into the hospital.

"How's Buttercup doing?" Kit's distressed voice called out to the nearest nurse.

"Umm, we haven't gotten word yet from the doctors, but she's in the ICU at the moment." I could visibly see the color drain from the girl's face and she held onto Bradley for support.

"Oh my God, this is my fault!" The boy from the crash raked his hands anxiously through his black hair.

"James, there was nothing you could've done. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Bradley knew this guy?

"I could've pulled over! I heard the sirens from the police cars. I swear if she doesn't make it I'm never going to forgive myself…" I flinched in shock when Kit slapped him hard on the cheek.

"James snap out of it! This isn't your fault so stop throwing a pity party! Don't sit here feeling bad for yourself while Buttercup is back there fighting just to stay alive!" I watched the scene in subtle interest, but Bubbles sat next to me, diverting my attention.

"Should we tell Butch? Do you think he would care?" I thought on it for a while and couldn't really decide. On one hand, he meant alot to her, but on the other hand, he seemed to hate her last time I saw him.

"I guess it couldn't really hurt to call him at least."

Butch's POV

For the first night in a while I actually stayed at home with my brothers for the night. Waking up without Buttercup was lonely, but I couldn't take back what I did to her yesterday.

After coming home in the first place I explained the situation to my brothers.

FLASHBACK

"So you're saying she cheated on you? Didn't she not date you until after her strip club challenge so she wouldn't cheat on you?" I felt the anger I had before come back over me.

"Yes! She fucking lied to me!" I glared as Brick cocked a brow at me.

"What was the challenge again?" My eye twitched as my brother didn't immediately take my side. I pulled out my phone and showed him a picture of the paper. He let out a sad sigh and looked at me as if he was disappointed.

"Butch. You're killing this girl. Did you ever listen to her side of the story?" I glared hard at him as he tried to make me feel like the bad guy.

"She went to a child's birthday party and had to do whatever the kid wanted her to do! I'm pretty damn sure a kid can't leave those kind of marks on her!" Brick looked back down at the note and matched my glare.

"If you paid more attention you would know that it never said it was for a child. For all you know, it could've been a 30 year old man. It's very possible it was a grown man's birthday who forced your girl to fuck him." My heart dropped and I snatched my phone from my brother and read the note desperately searching for an indication that it was a child's party, but Brick was right, it never said anything about a child.

"But she never texted me!" Brick glared at my attempts to justify myself and crushed my phone in his hand.

"It isn't hard to break a phone brother. Don't worry, I'll get you another one tonight, but I needed to make a point. You and her sisters is all she has right now and you just left her to fend for herself. My advice: swallow your pride and apologize to her." My eyes widened and I felt an ache in my chest.

"What did I do? I was terrible to her! I can't just apologize, she probably never wants to see me again! I need to sleep on this…" With that I went to bed.

END FLASHBACK

I needed to apologize. I pulled my new phone off the charger and got ready, putting on a green v neck, black cargo shorts, and green and black roches. I walked out without eating and hopped in my car.

As I whipped out of the driveway, my phone started to ring and Bubbles's name popped up on the screen. Without any hesitation I picked it up.

"Hey Bubbles, what's up?" I waited for her response and my eyes widened when I heard a sob from the other end.

"Bubbles? What's going on? Are you okay?" All I got in response was another choked cry. I heard a rustle and a shaky voice came through the phone.

"Butch, if you care about our sister at all, you need to get to the hospital now. They aren't sure if she's going to make it." I could've sworn my heart stopped for a full minute.

"Wh-what? What happened?" I stuttered through the line. I sat impatiently in the heavy traffic and waited for Blossom's explanation.

"She wrecked her car. No, she totaled it. The safety features in that car are horrible, it didn't even have functional airbags." At that, I held down my horn and started weaving through cars only to stop my car at the sight of what was causing the traffic.

An unrecognizable pile of black scrap metal. Buttercup's car.

I felt like I was going to throw up and stepped on the gas, not caring if I broke a few laws getting to the hospital.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I didn't even bother finding a parking space and left my car in the middle of the driveway. I flew into the building at top speed and was met with two harsh glares from Kit and Bradley, but I didn't care. All that mattered at that moment was whether or not she would be okay.

"How is she? I got here as soon as possible." My hoped weren't that high though based on the expressions of the people around me.

"Why are you here Butch?" I heard a growl come from Bradley.

"Maybe because I got a call saying my girlfriend is in the hospital!" I turned and met his glare.

"She's not your girlfriend. Not since yesterday. I would know since I was the one who waited for her to cry herself to sleep last night. Don't come here because you feel guilty, that's not fair to her. Go home. She doesn't need you here! If all goes wrong she won't even know you were here!" He had to choke out the last word and tears rolled down his face.

"I was wrong. I was in my way to her house to apologize when I got a phone call saying she totaled her car and might not make it! I really do care about her and I realized how wrong I was. I don't know what I'll do if I never get the chance to apologize to her…" Bradley snarled a reply at me.

"Save the drama and stop throwing yourself a pity party! Own up to how you treated her and realize that she's the one who's in a bad spot right now."

"Ummm. Not to be nosy or anything, but I have no idea who this is or what's going on right now…" I didn't even realize that the boy was here. I didn't even know who he was." I glared at him, not wanting him to know the details.

"It doesn't have anything to do with you so fuck off!" He visibly shrunk back and to my surprise, Kit came to his defense.

"So I guess you are still a jackass! He has more a right to be here than you do!" I turned my glare towards Buttercup's best friend and growled out a response.

"And how does a stranger have more right to be here than her boyfriend?" She met my glare with a harsh one of her own.

"You aren't her boyfriend! You decided that! And he was involved in the accident even if it wasn't his fault." I was about to yell at Kit, but I was cut off by the sound of the doors opening and the doctors walking out.

"Are you all here for Buttercup Utonium?" At his words we forgot our previous argument and waited for news on her condition.

"Yes, she's okay right?" Bubbles's voice came across desperate and on the verge of heartbreak.

He doctor looked away from her and we all assumed the worst. "No. She can't be dead, she's too tough for that." My voice come out shaky as I was on the verge of tears. The doctor looked back up at all of our pained expressions with a look of shock.

"She's not dead! I just wouldn't use okay as the word to describe her… Unless you consider two broken legs, severe internal and external bleeding, seven broken ribs, several gashes that will need stitches, a broken arm, a severe concussion, and possibly more okay." My heart ached with each condition he named.

"Can we see her?" The doctor cringed as he looked over our large group.

"Only family is allowed right now, I'm sorry. Maybe a little later when she's a little more stable."

Bubbles's POV

I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle seeing her in this condition, but I would never forgive myself if I let her go without seeing her. Blossom and I followed the doctor back and I grabbed at my older sister's hand for support that I'm pretty sure we both needed.

The doctor stopped in front of a door and looked at us, a grave look on his face. "Before we go in, I'm just going to warn you that what you're going to see is not that much better than she came here." I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. He smiled sadly at us and opened the door, motioning for us to follow him in.

I choked out a sob as I caught a glance of her hooked up to all of the machines, all of them dangerously quiet. Her normally tanned skin was a ghostly pale with a ridiculous amount of stitches covering her whole body. A nasty bruise stood out on her forehead that almost looked like she got shot. Both of her legs were casted along with her left arm. Her rib cage was wrapped heavily and I had never seen my sister look so weak in her life.

I slowly walked over to her and gently ran a finger over a particularly long set of stitches that ran across her cheek. I couldn't hold back the tears at this point and I held her good hand.

I looked back to Blossom only to see her frozen, tears spilling down her cheeks. She walked over shakily, as if she was scared her presence would kill our sister.

"B-buttercup? I know you probably don't hear me, but I'm sorry for treating you the way I did yesterday… I've been an awful sister lately and I swear I'll be a better sister from now on. Please just be okay…" Blossom leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before lightly touching the stitches on her neck, praying nothing was too damaged.

"We love you Buttercup, please don't go… Kit and Bradley don't know what to do with themselves, the kid who hit your car is wracked with guilt, Butch is crying in the waiting room, and we don't even know what to do with ourselves." I squeezed her hand lightly and cried looking at her helpless form.

"Should we call dad? He should know right?" I looked to Blossom for and answer and she only nodded.

"I'll call him right now."

Professor's POV

I was sitting in the same room as HIM, locked in a staredown of sorts. He broke eye contact with me at the sound of my phone ringing.

"Oh! Your oldest daughter is calling you, I wonder if it has anything to do with Buttercup." I glared at the way he said my middle daughter's name. He picked up my phone and put it up to my ear.

"Dad?" My eyes widened at the sound of her shaky voice.

"Blossom? Is everything alright? Are you girls okay?" I heard Bubbles crying in the background and quiet beeping in the background.

"Dad, Buttercup got in a really bad car crash. The doctor's aren't sure if she's going to make it or not. I know you're on a business trip, but she's in really bad shape and I feel like you need to see her." My heart dropped and tears built up in my eyes. How was I going to explain that I couldn't come?

"Oh my god… I really have no way of being there Blossom… Trust me, I want to come, but I'm just really tied up with work right now." My voice was shaky and I cringed at how insensitive I sounded.

"She's your daughter! How can you just say that work is more important than her! What if she dies dad? What if you never get to see her again? How could you just say you need to work when Buttercup could be dead any minute now?" I could hear Blossom sobbing on the other end of the line and I felt my stomach knot up in guilt.

"Blossom I'm sorry. I wish I could, but I'm just in the middle of a big project." Buttercup would be fine, she had to be!

"Why would you take her powers! She would be fine if she had her powers! How could you just take them from her like that!" I cringed at the cover story that Buttercup used to explain her powers being gone.

"She's just not responsible enough to have her powers while I'm not there to keep an eye on her. This is a perfect example of how reckless she can be." I heard a few more sobs from Blossom before she screamed into the phone.

"She's 18 dad! You don't need to watch her like a child! And how could you just say that stuff about her? Yeah she sometimes makes reckless decisions, but there's been so many times that we would've died without them! I hope you don't live to regret this decision dad, because if she dies, you consciously decided to work instead of coming to see her." Without even waiting on a response, she hung up the phone and I let the tears fall. I didn't care that I was right in front of HIM. My daughter could possibly die because of me and I just said all of that horrible stuff about her.

Blossom's POV

After hanging up the phone I let all my frustrations out and just started crying.

"Of all the times he could've been too busy, why did it have to be now? We should be his first priority!" Bubbles looked at me with concerned eyes and I forgot that I didn't tell her.

"Dad isn't coming because he's too busy with work! These are times when he needs to be here for us! If Buttercup dies I'm blaming him." Bubbles looked crushed and I couldn't blame her. It hurt to know that the professor prioritized his work over us. We locked eyes and made a silent agreement to keep this from our sister if she ever woke up.

Bubbles broke eye contact and looked to the ground. "I don't want to see her like this Blossom… I'm gonna head back out to the waiting room." I nodded to her in understanding. Once Bubbles left, I sat on the edge of her bed and brushed some stray hair from her face.

"I promise to be a better sister to you Buttercup. I know I haven't ever really been that supportive of you and I've never really taken your side, but I want to change that. I really don't know what I'd do with myself if you were to leave. I'm so sorry for how I've been treating you lately and I'll do anything to make it up to you. Please… please just wake up sister." I looked hopefully at my endangered sister, but she didn't move.

I sighed sadly and walked out of the room after placing a sisterly kiss on her forehead.

"Love you Buttercup…" With one last glance, I let the door shut behind me and walked out to the waiting room where Bubbles was. Everyone's stare turned towards me the second the doors opened. Their expressions of anticipation dropped quickly once they realized that it was just me, not a doctor.

"How is she?" Kit looked at me hopefully. I looked for Bubbles, but didn't see her anywhere.

"Where's Bubbles? Didn't she come out before me?" Fear filled her eyes as I didn't answer her question.

"She ran straight out of the building and now you aren't answering us! Is she going to be okay?" Kit was close to crying, but calmed down with Bradley's hand on her shoulder. I sighed sadly and thought about the best way to word her condition.

"She's definitely seen better days…" I knew it probably wouldn't, but I hoped that would do for the group of four in front of me. I was immediately met with three glares and a look of despair from the kid from James. My eyes landed on him as I knew I was about to be so hated for what I was about to do.

"James, come back to see her with me. You can come as long as you have my permission." He looked at me in absolute gratitude.

"Thank you…" I felt bad because I could tell that the poor guy genuinely thought he was at fault. I nodded to him and stopped as soon as we got out of view of the three other people.

"It's not your fault you know. It's obvious that you're blaming yourself right now and it's not necessary." He sent me an unsure glance and protested.

"But I hit her car! I should've pulled over when I heard the sirens!" He looked longingly towards the series of doors that lined the hall.

"There's no way you could've known that would happen. Nobody would've. Plus, her car already flipped before you hit her car. Plus, I already know she wouldn't be mad at you. Come on, let's go back." I motioned for him to follow me and we stopped at Buttercup's door. He took a deep breath and walked in the room.

James's POV

I flinched at the sight of all of her injuries. I couldn't help but wonder which ones wouldn't be there if I hadn't hit her… Well, I guess a bunch a crazy shit really does happen in Townsville, I just didn't expect anything to happen ten minutes into the city.

I looked to her sister and cringed at the pained look on her face. I walked closer to the injured girl to get a close look at her features; I never really saw what she even looked like.

I took a good look at her face and gasped silently. She was beautiful even with her cuts and bruises.

"Wow… She's really pretty." I turned to Blossom, who had a sad smile on her face.

"She'd be glad to hear that. It's usually Bubbles or me who get those kinds of compliments. She's the tough one. She wouldn't even be in this mess if our dad didn't take away her powers." I looked at her in confusion.

"Why did he take her powers? Actually, where is your dad?" Her eye twitched and a scowl covered her face.

"He said she was irresponsible and couldn't be trusted to keep them while he was gone. He's on a business trip and apparently couldn't find the time off work to come see his daughter who could possibly die." She looked like she was going to cry, so I spoke up.

"Hey, she's the tough one! She's not gonna die!" She gave me a small smile and pulled out her phone.

"I'll show you a picture of her when she isn't like this." She walked over and showed me a picture of a gorgeous girl in a black party dress and black heels. It was revealed to me that she had these striking green eyes, flawless tan skin, and quite the figure.

"Wow, she's gorgeous… Your dad must have a hard time with all the guys that go after you three." I was glad to hear a giggle from Blossom.

"He doesn't know about most of them, but he trusts us a lot. He just worries about Buttercup since she's the more daring and reckless one of us." I had to laugh a little bit at that. I really had to meet this girl while she was awake. We stood in silence for a while until I broke it. Silence isn't typically my thing.

"So I know Kit and Bradley, but who was that other guy?" Blossom got this look on her face. A look of mixed emotions.

"That's her ex boyfriend. They broke- He broke up with her yesterday and it wasn't a pretty one either. She wasn't dealing wth it too well and honestly it was the first time I ever saw her cry like that. I thought she was never going to stop. I regret it, but I was really mad at her and probably only made it worse." I knew I was only getting very little of the story and hoped to get a little more from the oldest sister.

"Wait, what happened?" She looked away and sighed sadly.

"Even now I don't know for sure, but Kit and Bradley do. She was gone for a whole night and came back home the next morning looking a complete mess. She had no shirt at all and was covered in bruises that didn't really look like they were from a fight. I screamed at her as soon as she walked through the door, lecturing her on how irresponsible and disgusting she was and I regret every single word I said to her. Butch came down and assumed the same thing I did. Much like me, he didn't listen to a word she had to say and called her just about every derogatory name he could think of. She lost it at that point, I had never seen anyone cry that hard. Even after Butch left, I continued to tell her that it was her fault…" She started to cry and I pulled her up a chair to sit down.

"Th-thank you. I almost lost her a week before and I p-promised myself that I w-would be a better si-sister to her! I'm already b-back to being a terr-terrible sister! I never got the ch-chance to tell her I didn't m-mean it!" Blossom broke down into hysterics and all I could do was give her a shoulder to cry on.

She cried into my shoulder until the beeping in the heart monster started to speed up. She pulled away from me, a look of panic in her eyes.

"Oh my god! We need a doctor!" Almost if on cue, two men and one woman rushed in to check on Buttercup.

"We're going to have to ask you two to leave until we find out what's going on. I'm sorry." The woman informed us and we left without a complaint.

Upon returning to the hallway, we were met with expectant looks from everyone in the waiting room.

"Well? How does she look?" Butch spoke up.

"I don't know, her eyes aren't open so she can't look right now…" I received a few glares for trying to lighten the mood, but also a giggle from Bubbles.

"That was funny, but really. Is my sister going to be okay?" Honestly, I didn't know…

"That's a question you're going to have to ask a doctor. All I know is that her heart monitor sped up and the doctors told us to leave until they could figure everything out." Butch grabbed me by my Deadpool shirt and lifted me against the wall.

"Stop acting so calm about this! She could be dying right now and it's your fucking fault!" I felt a stab of guilt, but Blossom jumped to my defense.

"Back off Butch! It's not even his fault! He's just trying to keep a level head, something you should do too." Butch growled to himself and let go of my shirt, dropping me to the floor.

After Butch's little scene, we all sat in silence until the doors opened, revealing a doctor. Almost terrifyingly in sync, we all stood up.

"How is she?" Blossom was the only one brave enough to ask. The doctor stared at us for a while, an uncertain look on his face.

"She's awake, but there are some problems you might want to see for yourselves. You can go in two at a time. As usual, family goes first."

Buttercup's POV

My eyes snapped open and I started to panic at the unfamiliar atmosphere. I tried to move, but a huge amount of pain stopped me. I opened my mouth to scream and nothing came out.

Immediately, doctors crowded around me with clipboards and several different tools.

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad is your pain right now?" I opened my mouth to say 'eleven', but once again, nothing came out. I looked to the doctors in a panic and they seemed to pick up on my fears.

"We forgot to tell you. You had some pretty severe gashes, well, everywhere, but also on your neck. One particularly bad one seems to have damaged your voice. Don't be too alarmed though, it should come back eventually. There's a possibility it will be fine in an hour and there's a possibility it could be damaged permanently. However, the chances of you never talking again are very slim." I opened my mouth, but quickly closed it and frowned. Instead, I responded by nodding my head.

"You have quite a few visitors. Is it okay if we send them in by twos? Of course your sisters will visit you first." My sisters came to visit me? I thought they hated me… I let a small smile form on my lips and nodded. One of the doctors left the room and returned with my two sisters.

I smiled at the sight of them even though I wanted to cry from the pain I was in right now.

"Oh my god! Buttercup, we were so scared you weren't going to make it! How do you feel?" Blossom was on the verge of tears and I tried to talk again, but nothing came out.

I meant to say, "I've seen better days", but once again, nothing came out. I frowned and instead decided to shake my head. I watched their relieved faces transform to one of shock.

"Buttercup? Can you not talk?" Bubbles asked with a shaky voice and Blossom was already crying a little bit. I looked around and found a notepad and a pen nearby. I soon realized my left arm was broken and frowned in frustration as I attempted to write with my right hand. After five minutes of writing, I finally got down a sloppy paragraph and passed it to Bubbles.

'No, I can't talk because apparently something cut my neck and damaged my voice. They don't know if it's gonna heal or not yet. Also, I thought you guys hated me…'

It took them a little while to read it, but I could tell when they were finished because they looked back up to me with teary eyes.

"Buttercup, it's going to be okay… And we're sorry for how we acted yesterday, we didn't even consider your side of the story. I know you probably don't want to write it all out, but if you are, we're willing to listen… err, read." I smiled at them and reached for the notebook, which they handed back to me. Immediately, I got to writing.

'I can't tell you the whole story bc I'm not allowed, but I went to a bday party that I thought was for a little kid, but it was actually for an 18 y/o. Well it kinda went horribly from there. The guy blackmailed me into doing whatever he said and not so surprisingly, he wanted me to fuck him. So that's pretty much why I looked the way I did, but I didn't call because he broke my phone before I could text for help and I didn't come home because I didn't think I could handle your reactions in the same night. Also, I'm sure you're wondering why I was driving around at 130mph this morning. I went on a morning drive and realized my brakes didn't work, so to make it through every red light, I had to speed up. That's when I realized my car wouldn't slow down either. Idk what happened to it, but then Bubbles flew in front of my car and I didn't want to hit her, so I tried to take a sharp turn. As you guys know, that didn't turn out so well.'

They took a minute to read it over and they looked back up at me while crying.

"Oh my god, we're so sorry! We didn't even think about how you could have felt… Also, your car is totaled, you probably already know that though." I looked away and frowned as I nodded, acknowledging that my car was gone.

"Also, Butch is here and we were wondering if you were okay with him being here." I felt a pain in my chest and it must've shown in my face from the sad looks my sisters gave me.

"We know he was pretty cruel to you, but he realized he was wrong and wants to apologize. We'll send Bradley back with him last since he'll be able to keep him in check." I gave them an unsure look, but hesitantly nodded.

"Okay, we'll bring back Kit and a guest visitor, he'll introduce himself. We love you!" They both have me a gentle kiss on the forehead before leaving the room.

Who could be a guest visitor..?

It wasn't too long of a wait before Kit burst through the doors with a guy I had never seen before trailing her.

"Buttercup! Oh my god I'm so glad you're alive, we were so scared! How are you feeling?" I stared at her for a little while and looked down to start writing.

"Buttercup? Why are you writing? You're left handed…" I cut my eyes at her and she kept quiet until I finished. After a long silence, I handed her the paper.

'I can't talk bc my voice is damaged. I'm honestly not feeling all that great, but I guess I'm lucky to be alive. Sorry for scaring you, I really didn't want to. Also, who's the stranger?'

Kit read over the note and her hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh my god… You can't talk? Is it permanent?" Tears we're building up in her eyes, so I shook my head no. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that they weren't sure yet. She sighed sadly and answered my question.

"This is James, he can introduce himself." The boy stepped forward, a pained look on his face.

"I'm so sorry! I'm the driver that hit you… I'm really glad you're alive and I'll do anything to make it up to you." I raised a brow at the boy. He was overly concerned about something that wasn't his fault… but it was sweet. I grabbed the paper and the pen and started to write again.

'It's not your fault, it's mine. I was driving at 130 mph and flipped in front of your car. Honestly, if anything I should be apologizing for any damage to your car. But if you're so pressed, I could really use some friends. I haven't been very popular as of late.'

James read over the note and looked up at me with confusion covering his face.

"Well now I don't feel that pressed, but I still wanna be your friend. I'm new to this city and I really don't have a reputation for you to ruin." He have me a cheeky smirk to let me know he was joking and I couldn't help but to laugh… well… try to laugh. I grabbed the paper and started to write.

'That was funny, I just can't laugh. I wish I had a number to give you? But someone broke my phone two days ago…'

He read the note and Kit looked over his shoulder.

"He has my number so if you need to contact him you can always just ask me." Kit smiled towards me and I actually smiled back. My head quickly turned towards the door when a series of hard knocks sounded from the other side. James and Kit looked back towards me with concerned looks.

"Seems like your last two visitors were tired of waiting." I sent Kit a desperate look not to leave, but she acted like she didn't see.

"Good luck Buttercup! Hopefully I'll see you again soon." With that, they walked out and Bradley and Butch care in. At the sight of Butch, I felt an actual pain in my chest and looked away from him.

"Buttercup? Can't you even look at me? I know I should've listened to your side of the story and… and I'm… I- I'm sorry! I just hate the thought of someone else having their hands anywhere on you! I didn't look at anything except the fact that I was angry and now I realize that my anger shouldn't have been directed at you. I know I don't deserve it, but I really would like another chance with you…" If only I could talk and move.

Butch's POV

I watched the love of my life as I waited for her to respond, but she never did.

"Buttercup?" She grabbed a paper pad and a pink pen and started writing with her right hand.

"I thought you were left handed." I asked her as she struggled to write with her right hand. She cut her eyes up to me in a glare and held up her casted left arm. Oh.

"Why don't you just talk?" She sent me an even sharper glare and looked like she was yelling something to me, but nothing came out. My heart dropped as I realized she couldn't talk. I decided from there to keep quiet and let her write.

It wasn't too much longer until she handed me the note.

'I was kinda expecting to never see you on good terms again, but since you're willing to listen… well… read, I have an explanation that I wrote for Bloss on the first page. And idk abt another relationship rn. Our last one kinda failed horribly and you didn't even listen to me before assuming the worst and calling me names! Gimme time to think abt everything. Maybe I just shouldn't be in a relationship until this whole thing is over. It obviously already ruined one so I'll really have to think abt it Butch. Don't get me wrong, I do love you, but you really hurt me an I don't wanna rush into anything.'

I sighed sadly after reading the note. I couldn't really blame her, I didn't deserve another chance.

"But we can still be friends for now?" I looked up at her desperately. I couldn't completely lose her, even if it would kill me to just be her friend. She gave me a sad smile and nodded.

"Okay, now that all the drama is taken care of, Buttercup, I'm glad you're alive. You really scared all of us." Buttercup smiled to both the boys, who were soon ushered out by doctors who needed to check up on the injured girl.

Professor's POV

HIM walked me into a room with only a television and turned on a video of a black car speeding through Townsville. My eyes widened as I recognized her prized black camaro. That car had no safety features! I closed my eyes, not wanting to look as she hit 130 mph, but HIM used a power to keep my eyes focused on the screen.

"You have to watch!" I cringed at the squealing of tires as she turned sharply into an alley. Right when I was thinking she might pull the stunt off without a scratch, Bubbles flew right in front of the car. Buttercup sharply turned the car, but due to the speed she was going, the car flipped multiple times. I flinched every time the timeless car hit the ground, but it got worse. My heart stopped as I watched another car come out from the intersection and hit her car while she was still in the air.

There was no way she could've survived that… Tears fell down my face as I heard an agonized scream from the unrecognizable car. Blossom and Bubbles finally showed up on the scene and started ripping off the doors.

I wanted to throw up when I saw what my daughter looked like. She was covered in her own blood with several cuts and bruises. I saw a particularly large cut on her neck and didn't even try to hide my fear for her.

"Oh my god…" I wanted to throw up at the sight of my mangled daughter hanging onto life. I knew she had been in critical condition from Blossom's call from earlier, but that was the only thing that told me she was alive right now.

"There's no way she's going to be able to complete the challenge tomorrow. I'll humor you, however, and let her try." I glared at him as he turned off the television.

"You can't even wait for her to heal? At least give her a chance…" HIM returned my glare with a smirk.

"I never said I was going to give her a chance. And just so you know, she may never speak again so I'm doing her a favor by putting her out of her misery." I gasped at the thought of my most vocal child never speaking again.

"No. That can't be right. Buttercup talks too much for that to happen to her. She'll be fine and she's going to ace whatever you throw at her! You just wait and see!

AN: SOSOSOSOSO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! I had a slight case of writer's block and homework pileups. I'm sorry to say that updates might start taking a lot longer than they did in the summer. Please review and thanks for reading! NEW OC BY CAuthoria- The Candidate!


	16. Challenge 15

AN: I'm so sorry for how long this update took! I hope this chapter is well worth the wait and I'll try my best to be faster!

Buttercup's POV

I woke up and it was still dark in the room. I looked over to a clock to see that it was only 4:30 in the morning.

"What the fuck…" I flinched in surprise when I didn't hear my voice. I had almost forgotten that I was even in the hospital. My head pounded as I turned my head to catch sight of a red letter on a table next to my bed.

Using my unbroken arm, I reached for the offending paper and read it with difficulty due to the lighting.

'Well, well. You live to see another day, but do you really think you can do anything in your condition? Unless you can somehow escape the hospital without telling anyone, your daddy is as good as dead… unless you take his place. But do you have a way to tell me that? It'll almost be boring if I can't hear you scream, but I guess I'll have to settle for what I can get.'

I sat up and was almost glad I couldn't talk since I wanted so badly to scream from the pain that shot through me. I needed to get out of here before anyone could stop me, but the second I got off of this monitor, a whole herd of doctors would rush in.

The heart monitor cart beeped at a steady pace, and it hit me. The monitor was my way out.

Reaching out with my right arm, I moved the cart back and forth. With a smirk, I moved myself, which proved to be extremely difficult to do considering how much everything hurt.

'This is for the professor. I can handle a few minutes of excruciating pain.'

It took a while to get in position, but I managed to hold onto the unorthodox vehicle like a scooter, using my broken leg to push myself forward. I slowly opened the door, making sure it didn't creak. As soon as I got into the hallway, I started to feel my head spin, but that wasn't about to stop me.

James's POV

After leaving the hospital the night before, I checked into my apartment and moved everything in. Despite how tired I was, I couldn't go to sleep after seeing how injured Buttercup was. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her being pulled out of her crumpled car.

After finishing with my unpacking, I decided to visit the hospital, hoping they would allow me to visit her again. I couldn't tell if it was the fact that I felt responsible for her condition, or something else, but I just felt drawn to her…

I pulled into the nearly empty hospital parking lot and walked into the building, only to come face to face with the very girl I came to visit.

"Hey. I was just coming to check on you… Shouldn't you be in your room?" A look of determination attempted to cover her pained look, but I could still see she was struggling. She clenched her jaw and shook her head no, pointing to the door I had just come in through.

"Buttercup, I know it's frustrating to be injured and unable to do anything, but they're helping you here. I'll walk you back up to your room." I walked towards her, but she scooted back, a panicked look in her eyes. Once again, she pointed at the door and tried to scoot past me, but I easily picked her light frame off of the rolling monitor. I held her gently, making sure not to hurt her at all.

The second she realized what had happened, she started flailing and reaching for her makeshift scooter. She was trying to talk, but nothing was coming out. The sight of her panicked state honestly broke my heart.

"Why are you trying to leave? Do you just want fresh air? I can walk you outside for a little bit, but I am going to have to bring you back in." She looked up to me and nodded her head rapidly, before grimacing in pain at the movement.

Buttercup's POV

I wrapped my good arm around him as he walked towards the door, hoping he would be able to tell it was a hug. He smiled down at me as we got out the door and sat me down on a bench, bringing the monitor as to not alert any of the nurses. I smiled as I was now out of the hospital, technically completing my challenge. The stress fell from my shoulders and I let out a breath of relief.

"Feel better?" James locked eyes with me and I couldn't keep the smile from my face.

Not being able to thank him in words, I nodded and leaned into him, wrapping my good arm around him.

"You're welcome. Are you ready to go back in now?"

Butch's POV

It was a little early for my liking, but I had to see her. I fucked up and even though she said she didn't want another relationship, I felt like I still owed it to her to show her I still loved her. I got out of my bed and ran straight to my car, not bothering to waste my time by getting ready.

Since there was no traffic so early in the morning, it didn't take long to get to the hospital, but I wasn't really sure how to feel about what I saw. That kid James from the other day was sitting on a bench outside the hospital with my girl.

What was she doing out of her room? I parked my Escalade and walked over to the two, sitting on the other side of the girl I loved so much.

"Looks like you're feeling a little better. Or are you just being stubborn again and trying to escape?" Her gaze shifted over to me and she allowed a sheepish grin, holding up two fingers indicating she was just being stubborn.

I frowned slightly and gently traced the stitches on her neck.

"Still can't talk?" Her face fell and she shook her head, a sad look in her eyes.

"Hey it's okay. Your voice is going to come back eventually. It just needs time to heal." Her downcast look lightened a little, but I could still see how upset she was.

"Maybe it's time for you to go back inside now…" We both turned to James, but to my surprise, she actually nodded and allowed him to pick her up. I felt jealousy burn at my heart, but I couldn't be mad, she wasn't mine anymore.

"I'll go with you guys." I took hold of the rolling heart monitor and walked with them up to her room.

Buttercup's POV

I sighed in disappointment as my room came back into view, but I didn't have the means to fight it right now. I was lucky that James let me outside in the first place.

He laid me gently on my bed and both boys stood in the middle of the room. I grabbed the pen and paper and started to write.

'Thank you for letting me outside for a little bit. Butch, can you bring chemical X from the lab so I can just get out of here?' The two read the note and each had different reactions.

"It was no problem." James smiled to me. I looked to Butch and saw a conflicted look in his eyes.

"Buttercup. I know that worked last time, but what if it doesn't this time? I'll bring it up to your sisters, but I can't promise they'll go along with it." I pouted to my counterpart and sent him a pleading look.

"I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything." I smiled brightly and a nurse came in.

"I'm sorry, but you two can't be here right now." My smile dropped as the two boys were ushered out of my room.

HIM's POV

I growled in anger as she so easily completed the supposedly impossible challenge. I wasn't expecting her to wake up so early that almost everyone was off duty! I turned to the professor and caught a smug look.

"I told you she would be able to pull it off. For someone who's fought her for so long, I'm surprised you don't understand the power of her determination. When have you ever known her to accept defeat?" I snarled at the professor and surrounded the man with scenes where his daughter had just about given up.

"If I remember correctly, she's come very close to giving up a few times. Don't think I won't make this harder. By the end of this challenge, I will destroy her!"

Blossom's POV

"Butch, you're crazy! She's lucky she didn't die the first time she did that! I'm not risking my sister's life like that!" Butch looked to me with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Blossom she can't even talk or move without being in pain! I'm honestly surprised she even survived a crash that bad! I can't stand to see her like this Blossom, she looks so weak!" I thought back to when I was at the hospital with her. She seemed so happy that we came to see her, but I could see a broken look in her eyes that honestly broke my heart.

"Yeah I know… She's… she's been different since the professor went missing. It's honestly scaring me. I don't know if she feels neglected since he's been gone, or even if she's acting out to hide how hurt she is that he took her powers, but she's just seemed… different. Everytime I look at her, I see this lost and broken girl instead of the tough, invincible sister I'm used to seeing. I… I'll give you the chemical X, but I'm coming with you to give it to her." Butch clenched his jaw as if stopping himself from saying something.

"Thank you Blossom. We should probably head over soon." I looked at him skeptically.

"Butch? Didn't you say you knew what was going on with her? Please tell me, I just want to be able to help her." He took a breath and looked up to me with apologetic eyes.

"Blossom… I really can't tell you more than I told you already or else Buttercup, someone else, and I will most likely be killed. I'm sure if you thought hard about it, you could figure it out, but I can't tell you exactly. You're a smart girl, you can figure it out. Now please, let's get to the hospital." I nodded and thought through everything I knew about the situation.

"Okay… but you drive, I need to think." He nodded and led me out to the car. Once I was buckled, I started to think.

'okay. This all started the second day after the professor went on his business trip. He said something about a challenge and she's done something crazy every day. It had to be a daily challenge, but how long was it going to last? Whoever gave her the challenges must've heard about her missing powers and threatened to kill her if she didn't complete them. Kit said something about a red note, so that must be how the challenger contacts Buttercup. It could be HIM… He's the only one I could think that would have all eyes and ears throughout the city, and the only one evil enough to do this to her. That would explain how Butch was involved… but who was the third person involved? It had to be someone important to Buttercup…'

"Butch… can you just tell me if the professor's involved in this?" I saw him tense and that was the only answer I really needed.

"So he is… How do we get them out of this?" I looked to the green ruff and his jaw clenched again.

"Blossom, you can't. If you or Bubbles get into this at all or try to save him, he'll kill all three of us. The best bet is to let your sister take care of it. The best you can do is just go by the rules. Cheating is punished harshly. Just drop it because you really can't help. We're here and right now, giving her that chemical X is the most you can do for her so she can complete her challenge for tomorrow." I teared up at the fact that I couldn't help her in these challenges, but I decided to support her no matter what she did. At least now I knew she wasn't going crazy.

"Okay. Let's go." I hopped out of the car and walked to Buttercup's room, Butch in tow.

Buttercup's POV

I sat in my bed and kept trying to talk, hoping that my voice would work if I kept trying, but nothing ever changed. I ran my fingers across the stitches on my neck, wondering how bad it looked before.

I jumped at the sound of my door opening and locked eyes with my older sister, my ex lover behind her. My chest ached every time I looked at him, but I was scared to take him back at the same time. I couldn't show that though.

I sent a fake smile to them and waved.

"Hey Buttercup, you're going to like what we brought you." Blossom spoke up and pulled out two shots of chemical X. My fake smile turned to a real one.

Blossom smiled back and gently injected me. To my surprise, an immense amount of pain ran through me and my breathing became uneven. I looked to my sister in panic. I gripped at her hand and I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Oh my god! Buttercup? Buttercup are you okay?" I felt her hand on my forehead for a second before she pulled it back.

"Shit! She's burning up! Buttercup, calm down! You're going to be okay!" I felt my arms start to move unintentionally and everything seemed out of my control.

I couldn't hear it, but I could tell that my my heart monitor sped up from the look of horror on my sister's face and the doctors rushing in. I wanted to call out to my sister, but my voice still wasn't working. The last thing I saw was Blossom's tearstained face before I lost consciousness.

Blossom's POV

No… This wasn't supposed to happen! I let my sister squeeze at my hand as she writhed in pain and the sight itself made me cry. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

The doctors tried to take her hand from mine, but I wasn't having it.

"Stop! I'm not letting go of her and none of you have the means to force me away! I've left her before, but I just can't this time! She's my sister and I'm not walking away from her!" Tears streamed down my face as she arched her back as if attempting to get out of her body. My eyes widened in horror as more tears streamed from her eyes, but this time her tears were black. Her nose started bleeding, and almost as if out of a horror movie, instead of red, it was also black.

"Buttercup!" I shook her gently and brushed some of her hair from her face.

"I don't get it! You were fine last time and there was so much more…" I trailed off as I realized she wasn't injected last time.

"Shit! Buttercup, please!" I leaned over top of her and let the tears fall.

"I know I've been a shitty sister lately, and even before that, but I care about you and don't know what I would do if I could never see you again. You want me to cuss? I'll do that for you! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Does that make you happy? Please I'll do anything, just stop this!" I screamed as black liquid started bleeding from her stitched gashes.

"Dammit Buttercup! You're tougher than this!" Her breathing went crazy and the chemical started leaking from her mouth. I reached up with my hand and wiped the black liquid from her face and put it over the stitches on her cheek. My eyes widened in understanding as the scar started to heal. I looked down and realized she was breathing the way she was because her ribs were moving back into place.

She was going to be okay… she was going to be okay.

My frown turned into a relieved smile and I let out a small laugh. She eventually stopped struggling and opened her bright green eyes.

"Language, Blossom." Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper, but I couldn't care less. A huge smile split my face and I pulled my sister into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay! You scared me to death!" She returned my embrace and I could feel her smile against my shoulder.

"I'm sorry Bloss." I squeezed her tighter and finally let her go.

"Let's get these nurses to let you go."

After a quick examination, the doctors realized that she was completely healed.

"Well… it looks like you can go home now."

Buttercup's POV

After getting all of my stupid casts cut off, I walked out of the hospital and hopped in the back of Butch's car, allowing my older sister to have the front.

"Thank you guys." Butch looked back as he pulled out of his space.

"Anything for you B." Blossom nodded in agreement, and then turned her attention towards her phone.

The ride home was silent, but for once, I didn't dare break it. As we pulled into the parking lot, I smiled to see all the cars in front of the house.

"Everyone's waiting for you inside Buttercup." I couldn't hold the smile back from my face as I hopped out of the car and ran towards the house. The second I opened the door, I was tackled to the ground by all my friends and my youngest sister.

"Oh my god! I'm so glad you're okay!" Kit was the first to talk and she wrapped her arms around me. My eyes widened as Bradley added onto the hug.

"Yeah it's great to have you back Buttercup." James opened his arms and joined in the overwhelming embrace.

"You look a hell of a lot better than you did this morning. It's great to see you not severely injured for the first time." I couldn't help but to giggle even though I was slightly uncomfortable in my position.

Group hugs sucked.

Bubbles squealed and I knew I may never get up again. The blonde girl jumped on the already too big pile and I was officially very uncomfortable.

"As much as I love you guys, I'm not too fond of group hugs, so I'd be very appreciative if you guys could maybe… get the fuck off!" At hearing the profanity, everyone scrambled off of me and once again, I was safe. I swear, cursing really is the only way to make people pay attention to what I'm saying…

I looked to all of my friends and allowed a small smile. They could be crazy, but I would do anything for them.

AN: Sorry this chapter was kinda boring, but I wanted to focus on BC and Blossom's relationship as well as more character development for James. Hopefully I can get the next chapter out faster than this one, but no promises :((


	17. Challenge 16

AN: Sorry for the wait (again)! I swear I'm trying but I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Buttercup's POV

I woke up happier than I had been in a while. I couldn't exactly tell why, but things just finally seemed to be getting a little bit better. I rolled over and my content mindset dissolved at the sight of the empty right side of the bed.

I allowed a sad sigh and I got up to check my Challenge for the day. Without fail, the red paper was sitting harmlessly on my dresser. Now that I thought about it, it was kinda silly that I dreaded seeing a note.

'Well Buttercup. Since you're oh so resourceful, it seems like you passed my last challenge with more ease than expected. This one might be a little harder though because I'm manipulating the situation in a way. Don't expect this to be easy. Today is your beach day, don't take no for an answer. Your challenge is to swim at least 100 yards out from the shore of your closest beach. Have fun and I hope you're a good swimmer.'

I took in a deep breath and decided I might as well try to have some fun with this. He was most likely going to make sure I ran into a shark and all I would have to do is kick it in the nose or something. That was a thing, right?

Being the last one up, everyone was already downstairs before me.

"Goodmorning sunshine!" Kit called to me from the kitchen and Bradley nodded to me as if he wanted to say the same. I got normal good mornings from everyone else and I felt like it was probably a good time to bring up today's plans.

"Hey guys, how about we go to the beach today? I haven't been all summer." Everyone's tired looked dissipated immediately at my suggestion and they all jumped on the idea.

"Yeah let's go tho the beach!" Bubbles and Blossom squealed in unison and the rest of the gang nodded in more subtle agreement.

"Alright sweet. Let's get dressed and then we can head out. Then afterwards I can start looking for a new car." I turned to get ready without even waiting for a response since I knew everyone was going to agree already.

James's POV

I couldn't help but to stare at the gorgeous girl who walked back up the steps. I hadn't really gotten a chance to get a real good look at her, but damn…

I shook myself out of my trance as she disappeared from sight. I shook my head and looked to Bradley, who was the only one who hadn't gone to change yet.

"I'm gonna grab my swimsuit from my apartment and I'll be right back. Don't leave without me!" I smirked cheekily and moved to walk out of the house.

"We won't James. Just hurry up cause we aren't gonna wait forever." I chuckled lightly at his lighthearted threat and made my way to my new apartment.

Bradley's POV

I shook my head lightly in amusement as he walked out the door. I had almost forgotten how funny the guy could be. There was a problem, however. It wasn't hard to see his infatuation with Buttercup and she really can't handle a love triangle at the moment.

With a deep breath, I cleared my mind of the accumulating war and walked to the guest room with Kitty.

"Hey babe." I casually strolled in and she squealed in surprise since she was in the middle of changing.

"Bradley I wasn't finished changing! You scared me!" I chuckled and moved closer to kiss her despite her half dressed condition.

"It's not like I haven't seen everything already, we've been together for years." She blushed in what I considered the most adorable way ever and pushed me away half heartedly.

"Bradley stop! I'm trying to get ready." I faked a pout, but backed off and turned around. Considering the way we met, I never pushed her to do anything.

"Okay babe, I gotta get ready myself anyways." I didn't look back to see her reaction and grabbed my swim trunks from the drawer they were in.

"Baby, Don't be mad at me." I turned around with my hands over my eyes.

"Kitty, I'm not mad at you. I respect your privacy, you know that." She pulled my hands from my eyes and kissed me passionately.

"I love you Bradley." I opened my eyes to see she was finished dressing. She had on a lilac halter top that brought out her chest well and black bottoms that made me fall in love all over again. She never really thought so, but she looked great in a bikini. She was usually hesitant to show off her perfect figure considering her past, but I was always overjoyed to see her coming out of her shell.

"I love you too Kitty. You look gorgeous." She flushed adorably and I couldn't just not kiss her. My girlfriend smiled to me and gently touched my chest.

"Finish getting ready, I'll be in the kitchen." I nodded and watched her leave the room in admiration.

Butttercup's POV

I stared blankly at my reflection. I had almost forgotten all the scars I had gained over the last two weeks. They weren't that noticeable, but I would always see them. I could tell anyone exactly where each one came from. The most noticeable were the scars I had across my neck and chest from the lion. My high ponytail put them all on display.

I shook my head and turned my attention to a more positive train of thought. I looked good- no- great in my bikini. I planned on surfing, so I wore a blue green tropical top that looked like a strapless bikini with white fishnet on the top so it looked more like a sport's bra. I had matching bottoms that showed a lot of cheek and had a bow on the back. With a deep breath, I put on a pair of shorts and flip flops before walking to the kitchen.

It wasn't too surprising that everyone had finished before me.

"Where's James?" I was surprised to see that he wasn't in the kitchen with everyone else.

"He should be here soon. He had to go back to his apartment to change." As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door.

"I'll get it." I walked to the door and opened it, smiling at the returning guest. "Hey James. You ready to go?" He nodded and motioned towards his black and red swim trunks.

"I'm always ready! You look great by the way!" laughed and pulled him inside by his hand.

"Thanks you too!" I noticed a faint blush on his cheeks, but I chose not to embarrass him. "Hey guys everyone's here!" The group looked up and smiled that we could finally leave.

"Finally! We can go!" Bubbles stepped forward revealing her blue and white polka dot strapless bikini. The blonde all but skipped to the car and Blossom followed in her solid pink halter bikini.

"Bubbles we need to figure out the car situation!" She stopped and looked around.

"Half in Butch's car and half in Bradley's car! They can pick who rides with them like picking teams in gym." The oldest sister shrugged and looked to the two men.

"Bradley pick first since your name comes first in the alphabet." The man in question looked to his girlfriend with a smile.

"You got shotgun Kitty." A huge smile plastered itself on her face and she walked over to stand with her boyfriend. Everyone turned to Butch and I wasn't really surprised when he picked me to ride with him first.

"You get to ride with me cupcake." I wish it didn't, but the nickname made my stomach flutter and a small smile made its way to my face.

"James." I couldn't really tell why, but I couldn't help but to feel a little disappointed that he wouldn't be in the same car as me. Butch must've noticed my pout because he leaned over to me and gently touched my bare shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong B?" I flinched and looked up to him.

"Um, nothing's wrong, I just spaced out." He looked reluctant to accept my answer, but he looked back up to pick our other passenger.

"Blossom." Blossom walked over to stand with us and Bubbles stood with Bradley's group.

"Alright, so where can I put my surfboard?" Butch smiled to me.

"Since we split cars I can fit it in the back of my car." I nodded and ran out to the garage dragging my ex by his hand.

"Okay, since I don't have my powers, you get to carry it!" He shook his head and laughed.

"Anything for you Buttercup." I felt my cheeks heat up at the sound of my name. It sounded so natural coming from him. He picked up my board and carefully loaded it into his trunk after pushing the back seats down.

Everyone piled into their respective car and we began our drive to the beach. Almost immediately after pulling off, I rolled down the windows and cranked the radio.

Butch turned to me and we both started loudly singing along to the music, Blossom watching with a raised brow.

"There's something wrong with you two." Blossom chuckled despite her efforts not to. At that, we all started laughing loudly, unable to sing anymore.

It wasn't long before we pulled up to the beach and parked. We all piled out of the two cars and Butch grabbed my surfboard.

"Alright let's go!" We all started walking towards the beach and Butch used his free hand to hold me back a little by my arm.

"So what's today's challenge?" I allowed myself to hang a little farther back from the group.

"I have to swim 100 yards from shore, hopefully nothing too bad happens. Worst comes to worst I get eaten by a shark." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. I let him. I couldn't bring myself to remind him we weren't dating.

"I won't let that happen. Just be careful." I raised a brow, but melted slightly at his concerned look. "Please. Just be careful." I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Okay, I'll be careful." He smiled and kissed my temple in the way I loved so much. I tried to hide a smile, but I couldn't. We both walked faster to catch up with the rest of the group.

The second my feet hit the sand, a huge grin split my face. The music was blasting, there were so many volleyball games, the waves were huge and the water was clear.

Without any hesitation I ran to a clear spot to put all of our beach stuff. We all laid out our towels and I immediately ran to a volleyball game.

"Do you guys need an extra player?" I could tell they did since they were looking around, but it would be rude to just join in. They all looked relieved and quickly accepted me into their game.

My group walked over to watch since I guess they didn't know what else to do besides lay out in the sun.

The other team started with the ball and served it. The ball went to the guy beside me and he set it. I took that as a cue and jumped up to spike it. Did I mention that I was the captain of the volleyball team in high school?

The two guys on the other team dropped their jaws in shock. They must've thought I was a rookie. My teammate let me serve the ball first and I hit it hard With my left hand, landing it right inside the boundaries.

They tossed the ball back to our side and I decided to take it a little easy. I gave them a manageable serve that they volleyed back to us. I set the ball to my partner, who hit it back to me, but a little behind me.

To their surprise, I turned and hit it back over the net backwards. They managed to get it back to our side and it barely made it over the net so I had to dive for it. The ball popped up to my partner and he hit it back to the other side. This time, it managed to fall in between the two.

While I tried not to show off too much, my team still managed to win without the other team getting a single point. My friends and sisters cheered for me and my face heated up.

"You guys didn't have to stay here!" I walked off the court after waving goodbye to the three guys.

"Well you looked so good and we couldn't help ourselves." Butch slid his arm around my waist, and once again, I couldn't bring myself to deny him that. My eyes drifted to James and I frowned at the grumpy look on his face.

I quickly looked away and broke out of Butch's grasp to face him.

"I wanna surf now, can you bring my board to the shore?" I smiled innocently to him and he nodded absentmindedly, walking with me towards the water. He handed me my board, but didn't let go when I took hold of it.

"Buttercup, please be careful." I smiled at his genuine concern and pulled him into a hug.

"I'll be fine Butch." After pulling away, I walked into the clear water with my board until it was deep enough to lay on it and paddle out. I kept swimming until I got to the 50 yard mark. I sat on my board and looked for any waves. In the distance I could see a big one building up and started to paddle towards it.

A smirk came on my face and I rode the wave. I looked over to see Butch watching and I decided to put on a little show. I let myself fall back so I was riding the barrel so that he couldn't see me. I stayed there for a while and then came out from the curl so I was back in view. I almost laughed at the horrified look on his face. With a smirk, I performed an aerial, jumping above the crest only to land back on the wave perfectly before surfing back into flat water. I heard a loud applause from Butch and James who had joined Butch. He must've been watching from farther back. I smiled at the praise and rode the next wave back to shore.

"Wow! Buttercup that was awesome!" James complimented me with a huge smile. I could see Butch scowling from the corner of my eye, but chose to ignore it.

"Thanks James!" He nodded and continued to look at me in awe. I felt my cheeks heat up under his stare and I swear I heard Butch growl.

"Well I'm gonna head back out. Maybe I'll go farther this time." There was no maybe about it, I had to go 100 yards. He smiled at me in adoration.

"Alright, break a leg… actually, please don't." I giggled at his attempt to wish me luck and turned my back on the two of them. Once again, I walked my board out to where it got deep and paddles out until I got to the 100 yard mark. I looked a little farther out and gasped at the sight of a little boy floating farther out to sea.

Without even thinking, I paddled further out until I made it to the boy. As I got closer, he was crying for his mom, but was too far out for her to possibly hear.

"Hey, buddy. Need help getting back to shore?" He looked up to me in fear and nodded his head, tear stains covering his cheeks. I smiled and slid off my board so he could sit on it. I took off my ankle band and strapped it around his. "Okay, just start paddling forward and I'll kick from the back. Do you think you can do that?" He turned towards me and nodded, but his eyes widened.

"What happened to your neck? Are you hurt?" I cringed at the thought, but quickly covered it up with a smile as I started to push him back.

"I fought a lion! I got this from where he scratched me." The kid gasped at me in amazement.

"You fought a lion?" I smiled again to him and nodded.

"Yup! And I won! I'm Buttercup by the way, what's your name bud?" He smiled huge.

"I'm Branden. You're awesome!" I couldn't hide the small blush and the smile. It had been a while since someone outside of my group had spoken positively of me.

"Thanks Branden! I just need you to start paddling okay?" He nodded and turned around, moving his hands through the water. We got back to the 100 yard marker. "See bud? Everything's okay." He started to paddle faster now that he could see the shore. I continued to kick forward, but I felt a sharp pain in my leg and was pulled underwater. I allowed half of a scream before I came face to face with a great white.

It had a strong grip on my right leg and I used my left leg and I punched it as hard as I could in the eye. It let go for a second and I had a chance to resurface for air.

"Branden keep pa-" My sentence was cut off when the shark pulled me back down by my other leg. I screamed in pain despite being underwater and felt another bite on my left arm. I looked over to see a slightly smaller shark of the same species. I kicked the one on my leg in the eye and punched the one on my arm in the nose. I resurfaced and called out for help in a loud shriek. I was glad to see Branden had made it back to shallow waters, but was dragged back down again, this time by my shoulder. I could feel the sharp teeth tearing into all my joints and I couldn't hold in the agonized scream. I once again punched the shark in the nose, but before I could get back to the top, the other shark grabbed onto my left leg again. I couldn't see anything at this point since the water was stained red and I was beginning to lose consciousness.

Suddenly I saw a green light and Someone I recognized as Butch dived into the water, shooting his eye beams at the offending creatures. His plan succeeded in scaring the predators off and he flew me above water where I started coughing up all the water I swallowed.

"Buttercup! Don't worry I'm getting you back to shore!" All my senses started to come back, but I could see all my limbs bleeding pretty badly. Bubbles had brought her towel closer to shore so that Butch could lay me down on it.

As soon as he let go of me, I sat up and was face to face with a furious lady. I looked at her in confusion and apparently that earned me a hard slap to the face. Her manicured nails left small scratches and I heard Branden scream at her to stop.

"You little whore! You put my son in danger! I know all about you! You're a sorry excuse for a superhero and this city would've been better off if he just let those sharks eat you!" My eyes widened and I felt a stab to my chest. I was helping him…

"I didn't-" I tried to explain myself, but the woman squeezed one of my shark bites hard, digging her nails into it. I screamed from the pain and agonized tears fell from my eyes.

"Stop! I didn't do anything wrong!" I screeched in desperation and tried to pry her hand off of me.

"Mommy stop! She helped me!" The woman froze and released my now heavily bleeding arm and stared at my condition in horror. She turned to her son for clarification.

"What? What do you mean she helped you?" Butch ran back over to me with a first aid kit.

"I drifted past the 100 yard marker and she swam out and put me on her surfboard to help get me back here." The woman didn't respond, but I wasn't paying any attention to her. I looked to Butch and flinched away when he pulled out the alcohol.

"No! I don't need that! I was just in saltwater!" He gently touched my cheek and made me look in his eyes.

"Buttercup, it's gonna hurt a lot more if you let it get infected. You can hold my hand as hard as you need to, but I need to do this." I clenched my jaw and gripped at his hand, burying my face into his shoulder.

As soon as the cleaning agent hit my arm, I felt the burning sensation and screamed as it felt like I was getting bitten all over again. By the time he got to my shoulder I was full out sobbing from how much it hurt. He stopped for a moment and stroked my hair.

"Hey it's okay, James is wrapping them right now, half of it's over." He pressed a comforting kiss to my temple and continued to run his hands through my soaked ponytail.

"Hey I finished with the bandages on her arms. Is she good to take care of her legs?" I could hear James's concerned voice and buried my face further into Butch's shoulder, shaking my head no.

"Hey, Hey B. It's okay. We have to do it okay. After this it's over okay. Can you do that?" I took a shaky breath and nodded. "She's good." I squeezed Butch's hand tightly and screamed a scream that transformed into pained sobs. My legs hurt even more than my arms and shoulder.

"Shhh. Hey it's almost over." He kissed my temple again as he doused my left leg in alcohol. That one earned a gut wrenching shriek as that was the worst one. He immediately pulled me closer into him and let me cry into him as James finisher bandaging everything.

"What's going on over here?" I heard Bradley shout over the large crowd and everyone stepped aside to let our group through.

"Oh my god! Buttercup!" Kitty shrieked and ran over, kneeling beside me along with my sisters.

"Buttercup, what happened?" Bubbles whimpered with tears in her eyes.

"We need to get you home. Butch, I'll grab her surfboard and you can bring her back to the car." I heard Blossom taking charge. Butch gently lifted me and as we walked back to the car I could hear Bradley drilling James for answers on what happened.

It wasn't long until I felt myself being laid across his back seats carefully.

"Blossom, sit back here with her and make sure she doesn't fall off or anything. Make sure she's feeling okay." She didn't say anything, but I assumed she nodded because the next thing I saw was her kneeling on the floor beside me. My older sister wiped the tears from my face and brushed away the wet hair that was sticking to my cheeks.

"Hey sis. You really have a knack for getting yourself hurt, don't you?" I met her caring eyes and allowed a weak smile.

"Maybe I do." My voice was raspy from all the screaming I had done earlier. My small smile quickly changed to a frown, however, as I remembered what Branden's mother had said to me. "Blossom? Am I a whore?" It came out weaker than I wanted it to and I could see her eyes widen from the corner of my eyes.

"Buttercup? Did someone call you that?" I took a shaky breath before responding.

"That's not important. Can you just answer the question?" She grabbed my jaw lightly and moved it so I was looking her in the eyes.

"No. You aren't a whore Buttercup. Don't let anyone tell you that you are one." I nodded with a sad smile.

"Okay, Thanks Bloss." She nodded and carried me inside when we got back to the house, leaving Butch to put away my surfboard.

"Look, I'm really too scared to give you chemical X again after yesterday, so get some rest. Tell me how you feel tomorrow morning and if you don't feel any better, we can bring you back to the hospital." I nodded in understanding and closed my eyes to go to sleep.

Professor's POV

I looked at the screen in horror as the water was dyed a deep red and my daughter couldn't get away.

"If I could control everything, I wouldn't have had the kid out there at all. Now she looks like a hero for getting mauled. I must say though, I do like the kid's mother. Not only did she neglect her kid, but she also blamed your daughter for him being so far out." HIM skipped to the part where the woman slapped Buttercup and squeezed hard at one of her shark bites. What really got me though was what the woman called her right after she finished saving her son.

Were the people of Townsville really so quick to turn against someone who had saved them so many times? I sighed in relief, however, at the fact that my little girl was alive and had completed her challenge.

AN: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter :))


	18. Challenge 17

AN: I'm so so sorry for how long these updates have been taking, but I've been struggling with school workload and severe writer's block. That being said, I hope you enjoy the chapter and thank you for being patient.

James's POV

I woke up confused and completely unaware of where I was after hearing a horrified shriek from down the hall. Wait… I lied. I just remembered I stayed at the Utonium house last night since Buttercup was still injured. I looked at my clock and realized it was only three in the morning. Who the hell was screaming at this hour?

I got up and walked out of the guest room to see if anyone else heard it and it turns out I wasn't quite insane yet and everyone heard the scream as well.

"What the hell was that?" My question was answered by the sound of sobbing coming from Buttercup's room. Butch looked to all of us, a concerned look on his face.

"I'll talk to her."

Buttercup's POV

I shot awake, screaming as I woke up from a nightmare. It was just like what happened at the "birthday party", but halfway through the dream, Henry was replaced with Butch. I started to cry, remembering everything that happened, but it hurt so much worse picturing him as Butch.

It didn't take too long for the very man in my nightmare to walk into my room. It was irrational and I knew it, but I couldn't help the fear and helplessness that washed over me as I saw him. I scrambled back towards the head of my bed and he froze before walking closer.

"Stop! Leave me alone!" I was close to begging him to leave my room, but he didn't really get it.

"Buttercup calm down. It's just me." He walked closer and before I could get further away from him, he sat in my bed and pulled me into his chest.

Panic began to set in and I couldn't control my breathing at all. Tears started to roll quickly down my face and I couldn't hold back the horrified shrieks.

"Stop! Get off of me! Don't touch me! Get the fuck off!" He only held me tighter and grabbed my face to turn it towards him.

"Buttercup Chill out it was a dream! It's just me!" I desperately tried to escape his hold, falling further into a panic.

"No it's not! Get the fuck off of me! Don't touch me! Go away! Don't fucking touch me Henry!" He still refused to let go of me even when I started to flail in his arms.

"Who the hell is Henry?" At the name I screamed as loud as possible and punched at his chest as hard as I could.

"Don't touch me! Just don't fucking touch me! Get off! Get off!" I began to sob loudly as he pulled me closer.

"She said to get off of her! Give her some space!" James took to my defense and Butch finally let me go. As soon as Butch backed off, I fell off the other side of my bed and continued crying to myself.

"Buttercup… What's wrong? What's going on here?" Bubbles walked up to me, but before she could put a hand on my shoulder, I flinched away. Thankfully, she backed off, but kept her gaze on me.

"I-I had a nightmare about something that ha-happened…" Blossom and Kit also took a position in front of me.

"Do you want to talk about it? Maybe it would help if you got it off your chest." I shook my head and covered my face with my hands.

"No I just wanna be alone!" They flinched away and Kit gave me a knowing look.

"Guys can I talk to her alone?" I looked up to them with pleading eyes because if anyone could help me here, it would be Kit.

Everyone reluctantly left the room and rested my face back in my hands.

"Did you have a dream about the thing?" I could only nod and allow a sad smile since she understood.

"Did you want to talk about it with me?" I thought on it, but closed my eyes and let more tears fall. I felt bad, but I shook my head, denying her an explanation.

"I'm sorry I can't." I squeaked out, feeling guilty for holding out on her. She offered me an understanding smile.

"It's okay, I understand. You don't have to talk about it now, but you can't hold it in. When you think you're ready to talk, I'm here for you." I closed my eyes and nodded gratefully.

"Thank you…" She nodded and left me to myself.

I crawled back into my bed and grabbed by blankie from under my pillow. I tried, but I was too scared to go back to sleep.

There was only one thing I could think to do. I quietly walked to Blossom's room. The door cracked as I lightly pushed it. It felt extremely childish, but I stood beside her bed with my blankie and called her name so that I sounded like a frightened child.

Her pink eyes groggily opened, but shot all the way open when she recognized me in her room.

"What's wrong, Buttercup?" I whimpered and my face lightly flushed.

"Can I sleep with you?" Her confused look softened and she shifted to one side of her bed so I could have the other.

"Of course you can. How are your shark bites feeling?" I looked down in surprise. In all my panic, I had forgotten that I even had these.

"I mean they still obviously hurt, but I don't think they're infected or anything." I crawled into her bed with her and she reached towards my bandaged arm. She paused right before she touched me as if asking permission and with only a little hesitation and mental preparation, I nodded.

She gently undid the bandages to check on my bites and cringed as she saw them.

"Well they aren't infected…" she pulled out a first aid kit and handed me three pills, following to pull out an antibiotic and clean bandages. "Take these while I re bandage your arm, they're painkillers." I nodded and swallowed the small pills dry.

"Thanks Bloss." My voice was just above a whisper and she turned her attention back to me as she finished with her doctor stuff.

"It's no problem at all Buttercup." She laid down on her side of the bed and I cautiously got under the covers on my side.

Butch's POV

I walked back to my room, but I didn't walk in until I threw a nasty glare at James. He was the one who told me to get off of my girl. It wasn't hard to see how attracted to her he was.

The worst part though was that he was right. I should have just let her go when she started screaming, but I just felt like I needed to be there for her. She used to feel so comfortable when I held her close and now it seemed to scare her… She was fine with me touching her yesterday at the beach so why did she seem so scared of being touched this morning?

Ugh who knows, maybe I'll ask at a decent hour.

Kitty's POV

I sighed as I walked back to Bradley's and my room. I just know what she had a nightmare about… I wish Butch would just understand that girls don't just get over that kinda stuff. I wish he would realize he can't just say that it's all over now. I crawled back into bed with Bradley and turned to look him in the eye.

"I'm really worried about her." Bradley sent me an understanding smile.

"I am too, but she just needs time. She needs time to think and she needs time to cope. Go to sleep Kitty, you need it." I nodded in defeat and closed my eyes.

Buttercup's POV

I woke up for the second time today and luckily it wasn't from a nightmare. I silently slipped out of the bed and walked out of Blossom's room, only to run into James.

"Oh… Hey James." He offered a concerned smile.

"Hey Buttercup. How are you feeling? What happened this morning?" I immediately avoided eye contact and looked towards the ground.

"I'm fine and it was just a nightmare, nothing too important." He gently touched my chin to make me face him.

"It is important because it obviously made you upset. Do you want to talk about it?" The concern in his eyes made me feel comfortable, but how could I just tell him?

"I-I um… I'm not sure I should talk about it. I'm sorry I just can't." I cursed myself for sounding so weak again, but I was honestly trying to forget the dream.

"Don't worry about it. If you ever need anything or want to get anything off your chest, I'm here." He offered a smile and as he got up I realized I didn't want him to go.

"James wait!" Before I even realized what I was doing, I kissed him. He froze at first, but slowly he let his hands rest on my waist. After a few seconds I pulled away with a light flush on my face.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know why I just did that." I knew exactly why I did that, but I didn't want to freak the guy out and more so didn't want to put him on Butch's hit list.

"It's okay Buttercup. I'm not upset at all. Actually I kinda liked it…" He looked up to me with a look that could only be described as adorable. "Can I kiss you again?" I could not find it in me to deny him that so I nodded my head. I was glad to see that he wasn't going to rush anything with me. He rested his hands on my jawline and my waist and leaned in slowly until his lips met mine. The kiss was gentle and comforting. Right now I needed that.

A warm feeling spread through my chest and I suddenly felt very comfortable with him. I let one of my hands rest on his chest and let the other hold onto his shoulder. He let his arms relax once he realized I was okay and bit my bottom lip lightly. I opened my mouth and he let his tongue run lightly over mine while pulling me closer to him, but not on top of him.

I couldn't help the happiness I felt, but it didn't last long since someone flung the door open. We quickly pulled away from each other and turned towards the door to see a very shocked Butch.

His surprise quickly turned to anger as he glared at James.

"Get the hell off of my girl! I'll beat the shit out of you asshole!" He had his large fists clenched at his sides as he stormed towards us.

"Butch leave him alone!" He then turned towards me, a furious look on his face.

"What the hell is up with you? You scream at me not to touch you this morning and then when I come in to apologize, I see you making out with another guy?" When he got close enough for me to feel his breath on my face, I couldn't stop myself from flinching away. Butch's angry look faded and turned to one of horror.

"Buttercup? Are you scared of me?" I swallowed the lump in my throat and opened my mouth, only for another lump to form. I looked away from his intense green eyes and he backed off a little.

"Why are you scared of me?" I could hear the hurt in his voice and it made me feel awful. He never really did anything. I knew it was a dream, but I couldn't help but to feel horrified when he got too close.

"It's not your fault I'm sorry." My voice cracked a little and I cringed at how I possibly made him feel worse.

"How is it not my fault? How can you be scared of me and it's not my fault? If this is about earlier I'm sorry! I'm sorry if I scared you. I was really just trying to help…" I looked back up towards him and tried to see anything except the Butch I saw in my dream, but I could almost still see the evil grin on his face.

"No… It's not that… exactly. I'm sorry I just really can't talk about it, can you guys please leave?" My voice came out shaky and I mentally slapped myself for being so weak. I was better than this!

As soon as the two boys left the room, I curled back into a ball and hid under my covers.

James's POV

I awkwardly walked out of the room with Butch and honestly, I was surprised that he hadn't killed me yet. I tried to avoid eye contact at all costs, but when he said nothing at all, my curiosity got the best of me. I looked up VERY slowly and was shocked to see him not seething with anger, but looking absolutely lost and miserable.

"Hey man, you okay?" Butch let out a defeated sigh and looked back to me.

"I guess I fucked up and you were there for her. I guess you win man. Yeah it fucking sucks for me, but I just want her to be happy and at this point I guess I make her the opposite of happy… I'm probably gonna head out now. Good luck to ya man." I froze in shock as he gave me a friendly...ish slap on the back on his way out the door, sadly waving to the rest of the gang as he left.

"What happened up there?" Blossom questioned me as she saw the look on Butch's face.

"Ummm… She flinched away from him and he got really upset about it." Bubbles scrunched up her nose in thought at the revelation.

"What the hell did she dream about? It has to have something to do with her dream." All I could do was shrug in confusion.

"I don't think she wants to talk about it. At all." Kitty nodded in agreement at my statement before adding onto it herself.

"Yeah. All she told me was that it had something to do with what she did in her challenge a few days ago." Everyone got a thoughtful look on their face before Blossom spoke up.

"Speaking of challenges… did anyone check up on her shark bites? I'm kinda worried that they'll get infected." I looked to the side as well as everyone else and shook my head. I thought of something, but I probably shouldn't say it… but I probably will anyways.

"I'll go check on shark bait and see if-" That earned me many glares and frustrated groans.

"What the fuck James! This is not the time for Nemo references! She could actually be really sick and you call her shark bait?" Don't do it James. Don't fucking do it.

"Hoo ah ah." Another round of groans followed and I smiled sheepishly.

"Dammit James just go upstairs and bring her down here!" I quickly made my way up to Buttercup's room and knocked on the door as to not scare her.

"Come in." I could hear that her voice was muffled so she was probably under the covers. I walked in to see my suspicions were correct and stood beside her bed.

"Hey Buttercup. Your sisters wanted to check up on your shark bites." She poked her head above the blankets and crawled out to shakily stand up. I quickly caught her before she could fall and supported her, knowing already that she wouldn't want me to carry her down the stairs.

"Thanks J." I smiled at the nickname and looked down at her.

"Oh so I'm at a nickname status? Does that mean I get to make you a nickname?" She looked back up to me and playfully rolled her eyes.

"You can do whatever your heart desires." I could hear the laughter in her voice and was glad to see her coming out of her shell. We made it down the stairs and Blossom ran over to fret over her.

"BC! How are you feeling? Come with me to the lab. I'll check you out and we can decide from there if we need to bring you to a hospital or not." The redhead was touching her cheek as if she was horrified of losing her. Honestly the sight was really cute.

"Bloss I'm fine I don't need to go to a hospital." I could see the fear in her sister's eyes and I could tell she knew it was just Buttercup being stubborn.

"Just let me check you out because you could get really sick Buttercup." The beauty next to me sighed in defeat and I let her go to walk with her sister.

Buttercup's POV

I let Blossom support me as we walked down to the lab and sat on the table in the middle of the room.

"You know Bloss, you should stop caring so much about me…" She looked at me in absolute shock.

"Buttercup, you're my little sister! We've had our differences, but I'm _never_ going to stop caring about you! Why would you even say that?" She looked close to tears and I felt horrible for what I was about to tell her.

"You know I'm going to die by the end of this summer. It's better if you just don't care. I don't want you to be too hurt when it happens." Her eyes looked at me with a horrified look and this time she didn't hold her tears back.

"How could you say that? What's wrong with you? You used to never give up! You used to never accept defeat! What happened Buttercup?" I looked down to the ground.

"You're a smart girl Blossom. You know what's going on. I can tell. Now tell me. Do you seriously think he's actually going to let us both go? Do you _seriously_ think my life is going to go back to normal after this? Do you _seriously_ believe for a _second_ that he's going to let me get out of this alive?" My older sister allowed the tears to fall and I wrapped my arms around her to give her a shoulder to cry on.

"I don't want to lose you! If anyone can make it through this, you can! Please Buttercup! Please don't say things like that because no matter what you say Bubbles and I are never going to stop loving you and we're never going to stop caring!" I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath and let her cry into my shoulder. She didn't understand, I didn't _want_ to leave them either.

"Sorry Bloss. I'll try my best to get through this. I promise." A few tears fell down my cheeks, but I quickly wiped them away. She pulled away and wiped her cheeks before helping me back onto the table.

"Let's check you out." I nodded and let her take off my bandages. I stared at her as she cringed at the sight of my bites. "Buttercup, this is fucking crazy! I didn't realize they were this bad!" I looked down at them myself and realized there was a few places where the bone was visible.

"Oh wow. That is pretty bad." She shook her head in disbelief and looked back up to me.

"You need to go to the hospital Cup! These are really bad!" At that I hopped off the table and almost fell over from the pain in my leg. I allowed a small scream, but limped to the other side of the table.

"I'm not going back there! They'll try to cut my leg off! And my arm! If you don't want me to die, you won't bring me to the fucking hospital!" She looked at me in disbelief.

"Buttercup! I can see the bone in your arms and leg! You could die if I _don't_ bring you to the hospital!" I shook my head rapidly and got ready to make a break for it.

"Blossom I _cannot_ go to a hospital if they're going to cut my leg or arm off!" Her disbelief soon turned to concern.

"If I ask how they deal with shark bites and they don't say they'll cut off anything will you go? Please." I held her stare for a while, but when she said please in her concerned sister voice, I couldn't help but to give in.

"Fine. But only if they aren't going to remove anything!" She pulled out her phone and called the hospital.

Blossom's POV

"Hello, this is Townsville hospital, how can we help you?" I looked up at my sister before asking the question.

"Hi, how do you guys deal with shark attack victims?" The line was quiet for a moment before I got a response.

"I'm going to have to transfer you to a doctor to answer that question. Please hold for a moment." Elevator music played for a short while before a doctor picked up the call.

"Hello, how may I help you?" I took a deep breath before repeating my question.

"Hi, how do you guys deal with shark bites?" I waited for his answer anxiously.

"How bad of a shark bite are we talking about?" I looked back to my sister's shoulder and cringed.

"Like… to the bone, but not through it." The line was quiet and I prayed that he wouldn't say he would cut it off.

"Oh… that's… really bad. We would probably have to put the person to sleep before cleaning the wound and surgery would probably be necessary to put everything back together. Obviously we would need to use stitches as well, but it's definitely treatable unless it becomes infected. If it gets heavily infected it would need to be cut off." I couldn't help but to smile at the news.

"Okay thank you! I'll be bringing her in soon." I looked to Buttercup as I hung up the phone. "Come on. Let's get you dressed and ready to go. They're not going to cut anything off unless you don't go and let it get really infected." Just as I expected, she pouted and let me help her up the stairs.

Buttercup's POV

After getting dressed and ready to leave, Blossom led me out to the car and everyone was standing there to wish me luck with the stupid hospital. The drive seemed longer than it actually since I was pouting and refusing to talk the whole time. Luckily I managed to grab the stupid challenge off my dresser before leaving so I figured now was a really good time to read it.

" _Hello again Buttercup. It's really unfortunate that you saved that kid yesterday since I intended to get you killed and make you look stupid for swimming out so far. My traitorous son just_ _ **had**_ _to save you even though you guys aren't together anymore. So dear, here's your challenge: You have to get back together with Butch and you can't tell him that the challenge told you to do so. You better hope he's willing to take you back after this morning."_

I stared at the paper in disbelief. He was getting into my love life now? My thoughts immediately jumped to James and I groaned in frustration, completely forgetting that Blossom was right next to me.

"What's wrong?" I looked up to her then back down to my letter.

"I can't exactly tell, but this is fucking with my love life now!" She sent me a sympathetic side glance before turning back towards the road.

"I'm sorry BC… I know we haven't exactly made this whole thing easy for you. Is there _anything_ I can do to help?" I rested my head on the airbag and whined again.

"Not really, unless you can convince James that I'm not a bitch after today." She sighed as we pulled into the parking garage.

"Well now I'm curious about what you have to do." She helped me out of the car and she walked me into the emergency room. After signing in, we sat in the waiting room and I decided to text Butch.

Me: **I'm really sorry about this morning :( it was nothing against you, I just had a really bad nightmare with you in it and it just freaked me out.**

It took Butch a few minutes to respond, but he did eventually.

Butch: **cool but aren't you with James now?**

Me: **no! I'm sorry about that… I was just looking for some form of comfort and he was there. I'm sorry Butch, I miss you :'(**

Butch: **you're literally so confusing. Can you make up your mind?**

Me: **Butch please… I really do miss you and I really am sorry about this morning.**

Butch: **fine. I'll come over, but I'm expecting an explanation as soon as I get there.**

Me: **you might wanna come to the hospital instead, but I promise I'll explain everything to you as soon as I can.**

Butch: **why are you at the hospital? Are you ok?**

Me: **Yeah, Blossom just wanted me to come for my shark bites bc apparently they looked really bad.**

Butch: **Ok, I'm omw now. See you later.**

As I was about to respond, a nurse called me back and Blossom helped me up so we could walk back to a room I was assigned. She stopped us at room 385 and Blossom helped me onto the bed thing.

"The Doctor will be with you shortly." The woman walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Butch's POV

I sighed as I put my phone in my pocket and started to walk out the door. Before I could actually leave, I was stopped by my older brother.

"Where are you going?" I looked up to him.

"Buttercup asked to talk to me so I'm on my way to the hospital." Brick furrowed his brows and gave me a questioning look.

"She's in the hospital?" I nodded with a chuckle.

"Isn't she always? She got attacked by sharks yesterday and Blossom probably forced her to go to the hospital this morning." The redhead chuckled along with me and slapped me on the back.

"Well good luck bro. Have fun."

Buttercup's POV

It wasn't too long of a wait before the doctor walked in and cringed at my condition.

"Well I'm pretty sure I have an idea, but what seems to be the problem today?" I raised a brow at the fact that he even asked, but I figured it was protocol and Blossom would be mad if I did anything but answer the question.

"I got bit. By a few sharks. All over the place." I tried to keep the bite out of my voice, but I just wanted to get this over with and get back home. He nodded and gently grabbed my arms and legs to examine the extent of the damage or whatever.

"So I'm not going to lie to you. These are pretty bad, but they're nothing to lose a limb over since they're not infected. We're probably going to need to make sure they're clean and then perform an operation to fix all the torn muscles and ligaments. It should only take a few hours and we would just keep you for the day to make sure everything's fine." I looked to Blossom for her to speak instead of me because even though I liked to act independent, I hated doing doctor and hospital stuff by myself.

"Ok that sounds good. Do you need me to leave?" The doctor smiles and shook his head.

"I'll get an anesthesiologist and you can stay with her until she's asleep." Blossom nodded and I smiled at the fact that my sister could stay with me for longer. We both nodded and thanked the man as he walked out.

Butch's POV

I got to the hospital after a few hours of just chilling with my brothers. I wasn't in a huge rush to see Buttercup at the moment considering how confusing she's been lately. I parked my car and was confused when I saw Blossom sitting in the waiting room, a concerned look on her face.

"Blossom? What's wrong? Where's Buttercup?" Her head snapped up and she looked surprised to see me.

"Butch? What are you doing here?" I felt some annoyance that she didn't answer any of my questions, but I wasn't here to be a dick.

"Buttercup asked me to come so she could talk to me. Now can you please tell me where she is?" She looked down and then back at me.

"She's getting operated on right now. They should've been done an hour ago… I mean I guess I can see why it would take this long, but I'm still worried about her." I could tell that Blossom was a few sentences from crying and worrying herself to death so I sat down next to her and gave her a comforting hug.

"She's going to be okay Blossom. Calm down. I'm sure they'll be out any second to say we can visit her." Almost as if I'm cue, the doctor came out with an amused look on his face.

"I guessing you two are here for miss Utonium? You can come back and see her, but she's still a little… out of it." I smiled to the redhead and we both walked back to see Buttercup. As soon as we walked in she shrieked in happiness.

"Oh my gosh! I missed you guys so much!" Blossom giggled and gave her sister a gentle hug before turning to me.

"If she wanted to talk to you, I'll give you two some space." I nodded my thanks and walked up to my ex girlfriend's bed to talk.

"You wanted to talk?" I decided to get straight to the point, hoping she could form cohesive thoughts.

"Yes! I was scared you weren't gonna want to talk to me! I wanted to tell you that I miss you and I'm sorry for this morning and I still love you and I just had a bad dream where you were the dude who raped me and I didn't mean to make you upset and I didn't mean to kiss James and I miss you and I don't want to just be friends anymore because I miss what we had before everything and I miss you Dammit!" I looked at her in shock and shook my head.

"Buttercup you're delusional. You don't know what you're talking about. We can have this conversation when you aren't on meds." I started to leave, but I stopped and turned around when I heard a crash behind me. The drugged up girl had tried to get up and fell out of her bed.

"No! I know what I'm talking about! Don't leave Butch we can talk about this now! Please!" She looked close to tears and I walked back to help her back in bed.

"I said we could talk about this la-"

"I don't want to talk about it later! I want to know if you'll take me back. I want to know what's going to happen next for once! Damnit Butch I don't have to be completely sober to know that I love you and that I miss you! Please just… can we please talk about this now?" I flinched back at the fact that she cut me off and the desperation in her voice.

"Buttercup I don't know… You didn't even want to be near me this morning. Maybe you were on the right track about not being in a relationship until the challenges are over." Her jaw clenched and I was surprised to see her holding back tears.

"Please. I'm sorry for what I said, but when I came here I realized how much I really missed you by my side. I realized how good you were to me save for the last day of our last relationship and I really miss you. I know I've been kind of a bitch but it's not because I don't like you, It's because of all this bullshit I've been doing. I'm sorry I've just been… scared… and stressed out and I shouldn't have taken it out on you, but I don't know how I'm gonna be able to do this without you." I looked at her and brushed away some of the tears that fell down her face.

"Buttercup you gotta believe I miss you too, but I don't want to get back together under some drug induced obligation you feel because you missed me a little bit before you had to get surgery. Listen. I still love you, but I'll wait until you can tell me the same thing sober before we get back together." A look of frustration came over her face.

"Butch I am sober enough! Ask me anything about us and I can answer it!" I sighed in defeat and decided it couldn't hurt to ask her a few questions.

"Ok fine. I'll ask you three questions and if you can answer all three correctly, we'll get back together right now." Happiness and hope shined in her eyes and I couldn't help but to smile.

"Okay! Ask anything!" I stared into her eager eyes as I thought up the first question.

"How did we meet again after my brothers and I retired from evil?" I held eye contact and she scrunched her nose in concentration.

"It's still kinda hazy, but that's only because I almost died. I saw you again when I woke up in the hospital after the drug challenge." I nodded in confirmation and thought of the next question. I was honestly surprised she answered that correctly considering she was currently humming the tune to a catchy song on the radio.

"What song did I make you dance to in the gym room at my house?" To my absolute amusement she started to sing the song _Pony_ and started to dance a little. Her voice was slurred in one of the cutest ways possible and I couldn't stop myself from admiring her. Even with her arms, legs, and shoulders bandaged she was still gorgeous and she was still having a fun time. It sounded horrible, but she looked her happiest while she was hopped up on drugs. It almost made me want to use again, but I knew she would be disappointed.

I snapped out of my trance as she fell off the bed because she tried to stand up and finish her little performance.

"Ow!" I rushed over to help her back on her bed and she hugged me before I could let go. "I really, really miss you." I took in a deep breath and kissed her forehead before gently setting her down.

"Buttercup…" I saw her start to tear up a little and her shining green eyes met mine.

"You don't want me back anymore… I get it. I really do. I've been confusing and bitchy and I completely understand why you wouldn't want me back." I shook my head rapidly as I saw her fighting back tears with obvious difficulty.

"B that's not it! You know I love you, I just don't want to make your life more difficult than it already is. You obviously have some feelings for James and you don't need any love triangle drama!" She shook her head and grabbed my hand with her shaking ones.

"Butch please! I don't care about the drama! I love you and I want to be with YOU!" I sighed and helped her to lay back down before brushing some hair from her face. My hand rested on her cheek and I smiled softly as our eyes met again. I finally gave in and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Okay B. But I think we should take it slow. Now rest up. I love you." She smiled brightly and leaned up to kiss me one more time before I left.

HIM's POV

If I had any hair I would be pulling it out right now. I couldn't believe that she could pull of so many of these challenges while she was in the hospital. It didn't even make sense! SHE WAS STILL LOOPED OUT ON ANESTHESIA AND SHE MANAGED TO COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE! She can't last too much longer…

 **A/N: Okay I am so so sorry about how long this update took. I've been so caught up with AP tests, SATs, college applications, scholarship applications, sports, and regular schoolwork and I've had almost no time or energy to write at all. I'll try my best to update as fast as possible but I'm not sure how fast that will be. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


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